Adagio, Andante, Allegro
by ian.michael
Summary: SasuNaru & NaruSasu. Naruto is given the task of showing the new kid, Sasuke, around. From the first instant they met, Naruto knew that there's something their past shared. Their unfolding relationship is told as a progression through 3 different paces.
1. Adagio I

Note: I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.

Warning: first fan-fic attempt. OOC, sasunaru/narusasu pairing, intimate descriptions of body, play nice.. please.

Also: I have provided links to pictures I drew and colored with pencil to maybe help along the visuals of the story. Simply copy and paste the link, replacing "(dot)" with an actual "." to view the picture. They are very amateur.

ADAGIO: Concerning music; A slow passage, movement, or work, especially one using adagio as the direction.

Some characters: go to -- https://webspace(dot)utexas(dot)com/ijs58/adagio(dot)jpg

Adagio Pt. I--Monday

Early fall began to decorate the landscape around the Uzumaki mansion. The once green leaves on the trees that surrounded the estate began to turn to pale yellows, oranges, and reds. The transition in colors not only signaled a change in season but also a new school year for Naruto Uzumaki.

Naruto loved school. He was always delighted in learning new things, granted that the subject matter was interesting. However, the one thing that worked against Naruto during the school year was the fact that he was definitely not a morning person. During past school terms, he learned that alarm clocks had a very short life span once it woke him up with its annoying, increasingly loud buzzing. It soon became apparent that the only way to wake Naruto up was to do it manually.

"GOOD MORNING NARUTO!" A loud voice boomed with a slam of the door.

Naruto stirred. "Ugghhhhh! Is it time for school already Iruka?"

"Yes it is, and I do NOT want you to be late for your first day of school! Now wake up while I go prepare breakfast for you," said Iruka as he opened up the curtains to let the sun in. "Hurry, I'll be downstairs in the kitchen."

Naruto hated it when he let the sun in so early in the morning. It was probably the most sure fire way to wake Naruto up because none of his blankets could keep the light out. As the blond finally rose up from bed, he stretched out his arms and yawned. With his eyes finally open, he rubbed the sleep out of them as he stood up.

_"At least I get to see Lee and Gaara today," _thought the blond as he walked over to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. He felt much more refreshed once he finished. After his morning routine, he couldn't help but look at his reflection in the mirror. He just couldn't believe how much he's changed since he was a kid. His cheeks weren't as chubby, his hair now curled around his face instead of standing up, and his once baby blue eyes were now a striking sapphire. The girls never paid much attention to him until they started noticing that Naruto was getting taller, leaner, and definitely more handsome as the time passed. After giving himself a wink in the mirror, he began his "journey" to the kitchen.

The Uzumaki mansion was 2 stories with a deeply infinite black marble floor and warm colored walls which were decorated with pictures and portraits. Everything about it was welcoming and inviting, except for the sheer size of the mansion which seemed to engulf any newcomer. As big as it was, the only two people that lived in it were Naruto and Iruka.

Naruto, still dressed in his white pajamas, made his way to the kitchen. To get there he always walked through a hallway with 8 large parallel windows that faced the trees. _"The colors,"_ Naruto thought.

At the end of the hallway was the kitchen. Iruka stuck his head out of the corner and yelled, "HURRY UP!"

Even though Iruka saw Naruto every day, he was always amazed at how Naruto seemed to glow in the sun. His golden hair and warm skin looked like it was being guarded by an aura. _"He looks so much like his mother…"_

"Do you ever wonder why you're still single, Iruka?"

"Because I choose to be."

"No, it's because you order everybody around."

Iruka huffed. "I don't order everybody around, Naruto, just YOU. Most people don't need to be told when to wake, eat, bathe, but you…"

"Alright, alright! I get it. I'm lazy and you're the ever reliable and attentive one." The last part of the sentence was squeezed out of Naruto's mouth with sarcasm.

"EXACTLY," the other replied with a smirk.

They both laughed at each other before sitting down to breakfast. The conversation at the table went like any other talk over eggs and toast. Naruto described his schedule for the day to Iruka, while Iruka talked about how his day would probably be like at the hospital.

Naruto got up from the breakfast table and said, "Thanks Iruka!"

"You're welcome, Naruto."

"Alright, we'll I'm going to get ready for school. You should probably get ready for work too."

With a nod, Iruka got up as well, and they both placed the dishes in the sink before retreating to their bedrooms to get ready for the day ahead of them.

Naruto went back to his room and put on his school uniform which was a matching black pant and black long sleeve button up shirt with a standing collar. He then put his black loafers on to finish up the uniform. Making sure he was presentable, Naruto looked into the mirror and couldn't help but feel that the day was going to be a good one. After getting ready, he got the books he needed for the day, which were Math and Literature. His other two classes, P.E. and Swimming, thankfully didn't require any reading. He placed them into his orange backpack and began walking to the front door.

"I'll see you later, Iruka! Have a great day at work!"

Iruka yelled from his room, "You too, Naruto!"

After locking the door behind him, Naruto walked over to the car and chauffeur inside it. "Good morning, sir."

"Good morning!" said the cheery blond as he entered the car.

"Ready?"

Naruto nodded and with that they were on their way to Konoha High.


	2. Adagio II

**ADAGIO 2. (Monday, continued)**

"We're here sir."

"Thank you," Naruto replied as he got out of the car.

_"Good ole' Konoha High,"_ mused Naruto as he stared the large buildings around him.

"NARUTO!!!!"

"LEE!!" exclaimed Naruto as he saw his friend waving to him. "Where's Gaara?"

"He's somewhere around here… I could have sworn I just saw hi--"

"Boo."

Both Naruto and Lee jumped and as they turned around they saw Gaara standing there, just as smug as can be.

"GAARA! YOU JERK! IT'S TOO EARLY FOR THAT!" the two screamed.

"Touchy, touchy."

The three of them had been best friends for quite some time now. As kids they were all outcasts that found comfort being around each other. In those times, Naruto was the chubby kid, Lee had funny eyes and eyebrows, while Gaara was seen as a freak. Though awkward before, the trio were now very much accepted and had quite a following among the girls. Lee was one of Konoha High School's star football players. You could catch Lee's admirers watching him outside as he practiced with the rest of the team. On the other hand, Gaara was an artistic, brooding type who appealed to girls (and guys) who were more interested in mystery. Many of his admirers gushed over his aqua eyes and alabaster skin. Naruto was the swim team captain and also took part in the debate team. Many of his enthusiasts were completely taken by his striking eyes, golden hair and tan skin. He seemed to demand attention whenever he went anywhere, and attention is exactly what he got from many of the students.

"Hey guys!"

The three looked to their right and saw Hinata, Sakura, and Ino coming towards them. It was always a surprise the see the girls together because they were so different from each other. Hinata was rather skinny with pale skin, dark blue-ish hair, and pale blue eyes. Out of the three girls she was the most reserved and refined. Sakura on the other hand was loud and brazen, but fun. She always knew how to make everyone laugh and was one of the more sought out girls in their class. Ino was extremely blunt and to the point which scared many guys away. She seemed to always be in competition with Sakura and vice versa. How the three girls seemed to get along was almost miraculous, but it was usually Hinata who had to play mother between the other two.

"He—Hey Sa..kura," mumbled Lee.

"Hey yourself," replied Sakura with a wink.

GULPS

"The three of you look so handsome in your uniforms," said Hinata with a smile.

"And you ladies look absolutely stunning," nodded Naruto to a now blushing Hinata.

"I'm just glad we can wear shorter skirts this year. Can you believe last year it was below the knee? Eck. How do you guys like me in the new skirt?" asked Sakura as she spun around.

"I knew there was something different about your uniforms," Gaara replied.

"What do YOU think Leeeeee?" Sakura purred as spun around once again.

"It's… it's… " Lee fumbled with the words as drool began to run down his mouth.

Hinata, looking disturbed, grabbed Sakura's arm and turned to Naruto. "Alright, well we have to go, we'll see you around!" As the girls were walking away, Hinata turned to Sakura and said, "Are you trying to kill the poor boy?"

"No. Just flirting."

Ino looked at Sakura, "That was just trashy."

"Hmph. Get over it piggie!"

"At least my forehead isn't longer than my skirt."

"YOU BITCH!"

"YOU SLUT!"

"Children," Hinata started with a sigh, "come on let's go to class."

_"Sometimes I feel like I'm babysitting these two."_

Gaara, looking with disgust at the long trail of drool hanging from Lee's mouth, handed him a tissue. "Are you done yet? Because your mouth apparently isn't."

And with a blink Lee grabbed the tissue. "Ye—yeah. Thanks for snapping me out of it. That girl is just soooo… Mmmph."

The bell rang and Naruto realized he still had to run half way across the campus to reach his first class. "I'll see you guys later," exclaimed the blond as he rushed down the hallway.

Gaara looked at the Lee, "Guess we better be on our way too."

Naruto's day began with Math class which made his day start off excruciatingly slow. His teacher Asuma Sarutobi was rather boring to listen to, plus the subject matter never really appealed to Naruto in the first place, so he ended up falling asleep in class. His next class was P.E. which he had with Lee. Since it was the first day, Might Guy started off by giving them a syllabus and just letting them hang around. His next class was Literature with Kakashi Hatake. Naruto loved this class because it was so easy. Kakashi handed out packets for the students to read while Kakashi would retreat to his desk to read as well. Everyone knew he was reading some kind of dirty novel anyway.

"Naruto Uzumaki."

"Yes Mr. Hatake," answered the blond.

"Principal Tsunade has requested you in her office."

_"What the hell,"_ thought Naruto. "Okay."

As he made his way to see the principal, he was confused as to why he would be requested. He hasn't done anything yet… and it's just the first day of school, right? He gulped as he stood outside her door and knocked.

"Come in."

"Principal Tsunade, I believe you called for me."

"Why yes I did, come on in and take a seat."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Haha, no, Naruto. Actually, I have a favor to ask you. We have a new student coming in on Wednesday and I need someone with you social networking to show him around. He's 17 and in your grade so I made your schedules pretty similar so he won't be alone."

"So.. I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope, but I do appreciate you volunteering," glared Tsunade. "I will tell him that you will meet him infront of my office tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Will do," replied Naruto. _Hopefully, the new kid will be fun, otherwise it's going to be like hanging out with a rock,"_ he thought.

"Thank you, Naruto. You are dismissed."

With a nod, Naruto was on his way back to Kakashi's class. Upon opening the door, he was greeted with stares, and with a huff he sat back down in his chair and began to read.

_"One more class to go,"_ thought Naruto with relief.

His last class was swimming and training. He met up the rest of the team at the pool where they waited for coach Baki. The man was very rigid, but he always had the team in the best of shape. There was quite a ruckus as everybody asked each other about summer and the upcoming year.

DOOR SLAMS

The room went dead silent as Baki entered the room. The entire team knew that if Coach Baki entered a room full of noise they would do laps till their arms went black.

"I hope you ladies are ready for a hard year of training because we now have a title to protect, and I'll be damned if we lose it after only ONE year with it," began Baki. He went over the schedules for swim meets, their practice times, and his expectations. Naruto could care less if they had to meet every day to practice. Being in the water always reminded him of his parents and the times they spent at the beach and pool. It was his escape and also a way of coping with many of the emotions he now tries to suppress. There was something about how the water felt against his skin and the way his body felt as he moved through the water that felt cleansing and calming.

Once Baki was finished he yelled, "EVERYBODY IS DONE FOR THE DAY. I WILL SEE YOU ALL AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY SO BRING YOUR SWIM GEAR THEN!"

_"Not such a bad day,"_ thought Naruto as he walked out of his last class and toward the area where he was to be picked up. Suddenly, he remembered about the new kid he had to show around the next morning. It wasn't that Naruto hated meeting new people, in fact Naruto liked to make people feel welcome, it was something he felt he needed to do since so many people supported him through hard times when his parents passed away. It's just that… Naruto was picky about the people he surrounded himself with. He had to be around people that excited him, talked to him, and of course paid attention to him. Otherwise, he would end up rolling his eyes, staring around the room, and even falling asleep. _"I guess we'll see how it goes tomorrow,"_ he thought.

As he was walking he saw Gaara and Lee waiting for him at their usual spot after school. Gaara had a very composed look to himself while Lee looked particularly tired.

"What happened to you Lee?"

Gaara turned to Naruto and scoffed. "Football practice."

"He started training today.. TODAY.. the first day of school!" exclaimed Lee.

"At least you got to do something today, all Coach Baki did today was go over his plans for the team this school year," chimed Naruto. The blond could feel Lee throw daggers from his eyes. "How about you Gaara?"

Gaara replied sarcastically, "My arm is sore… from painting… while standing up… and holding an easel. Oh and my neck hurts from tilting my head to see the subject."

Lee's jaw dropped. "Yeah you just had the hardest day didn't you? I hope you're able to recover by TOMORROW!" The remark was bathed in aggression towards the red head.

"Yeah, I think I'll be fine," replied a satisfied Gaara.

"You--!!" Lee stopped as he looked over and noticed Naruto wasn't his usual talkative self. "Hey are you alright, Naruto?"

"Hmm.. yeah. I just got assigned as tour guide for the new kid tomorrow. Not only that, but the principal also gave us similar schedules so I could be his link to quote, unquote society. It's like I'm being set up to go on a date."

"Is it a girl or a boy?" asked Gaara.

"Boy."

"Have fun with that. Hopefully he won't be boring," chimed Lee.

"HAHA THAT'S THE FIRST THING I THOUGHT TOO! I would hate to fall asleep near him and him think me rude," laughed Naruto.

(Car honks in the background)

"Hey guys my ride's here. I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that Naruto was on his way home from a rather interesting first day of school.

As Naruto lay in bed, later that night, he couldn't help but laugh at the conversation he and Iruka had at the dinner table.

"Naruto, words cannot describe how much I hate interns at the hospital."

With a raise of a curious brow, the blond replied, "Continue.."

"It's just that they are so damn stupid. For example, today one of the new interns only had to distribute the medication to patients on the rehabilitation floor. The cups with the medication had room numbers on them and the IDIOT said he didn't notice and just distributed it. The sad thing is the intern only realized he was doing something wrong when one of the patients asked why he was missing 2 of his pills. And do you know what that dumb ass said!?"

"What?"

He said, "You mean to tell me that these cups had different pills in them?"

As Naruto let out a laugh, Iruka glared at him, "That is not funny, Naruto, thank god nothing happened to the patients."

With a quieting smile, Naruto asked, "So what happened to this intern?"

"I sent him home and told him he may not be ready for such a responsibility."

Naruto giggled to himself again, as he began to fall asleep. And with a yawn, he hugged his pillow and said good night to the photograph beside his bed. This is the same picture that he had beside him since his parents died. Looking at the picture, one couldn't help but notice the smiles on the Uzumaki family looking out at a setting sun while sitting on a beach while holding each other. It was one of Naruto's most fond memories.


	3. Adagio III

**ADAGIO 3 – WEDNESDAY**

It was finally Wednesday and Naruto dashed like a mad man towards the principal's office. _"Shit, I'm soooooooo late." _Running past the secretary he barged into Tsunade's office and began his apology, "I'm so sor—"

But before he could finished, he stopped dead in his tracks. Right in front of him, maybe a few inches away from his face, was a dark-haired, dark eyed stranger. He stood with surprised eyes and an open mouth which was trying to finish it's previous sentence. The dark eyes were wide and opened, like he got shot with a gun or something.

https://webspace(dot)utexas(dot)edu/ijs58/sasunaruijs(dot)jpg

Tsunade sat at her desk nearly regretting picking Naruto to show the new kid around. "You are late Uzumaki."

It took awhile for Naruto to step away from the stranger before walking over to Tsunade and began apologizing.

Tsunade didn't want to waste any more time arguing, "Alright, Uzumaki, this is Sasuke Uchiha, he is a new to this area and I am making it your responsibility to show him around and socialize him."

"Yes, maim," replied Naruto as he glanced over at the figure beside him.

"Sasuke."

"Yes."

"Here's your schedule."

Sasuke motioned towards the principal and took the piece of paper. "Thanks."

"Alright you two, you are dismissed."

As the pair walked out of Tsunade's room, Naruto turned around to Sasuke, "Hey, man, I'm sorry for almost running into you, and I'm sorry for making you wait. I swear I'm more dependable than that."

"S'ok," replied Sasuke.

With a nod and smile, Naruto held out his hand, "Name's Naruto Uzumaki by the way."

"Sasuke Uchiha." The handshake was rather awkward because Sasuke only lightly shook Naruto's hand, while Naruto help Sasuke's affirmingly.

As they broke their handshake, Naruto tried once again to disturb the gauche silence by asking if he could see Sasuke's schedule. The dark-haired boy handed it over with no question.

"I see we have all the same classes today except for fourth period."

"Hn."

"I'll be more than happy to show you around and introduce you to everyone, in our first three periods."

"Thanks."

"So I see you like track and field," Naruto said as he looked at Sasuke's fourth class.

"Yeah."

"I like to swim. I'm actually the captain of the swim team here," said Naruto with a gleeful tone.

"Awesome," answered a flat voice. Sasuke was getting a little agitated at the blond's constant questions. However, he did appreciate that Naruto was trying to make conversation.

Naruto twitched a bit. _"Dear god I'm going to fall asleep around this guy."_ He wanted so much to just make Sasuke answer with more than one word, but Naruto wisely closed his mouth because he didn't know Sasuke too well.

As they entered first period, Mr. Sarutobi greeted the new comer and introduced him to the class. All the eyes went to the front as Naruto stood beside Sasuke. They were both such attractive boys, but with such different appeals. The two of them standing beside each other looked like day and night. Naruto was blond, cheery, golden, and his eyes had a way of reflecting the sun that made him look so unearthly. The slightly taller figure beside him had alabaster skin, dark, mysterious eyes, and blue-black hair. All the girls blushed at the sight of the two. After the introduction, Mr. Sarutobi designated the two to sit together in the middle of the class.

"Ugh math is sooo boring," griped an inward Naruto. "Don't you thi--?"

He gawked at Sasuke whom he thought would reciprocate his revulsion towards the subject, but was rather looking at the board taking notes with all the focus Naruto wish he had. As the blond looked down at his notes, he only saw drawings and scribbles while Uchiha had formulas and concepts written on his.

Sasuke noticed the blond actually stopped speaking, for once. He looked towards Naruto and replied, "I like math."

Naruto turned to his right to look at Sasuke and was surprised for two reasons. One was that Sasuke actually answered a question with more than one word. And two was that there was actually a high school student in the universe that enjoyed math.

After their eyes met, Sasuke looked back up to the board and continued taking notes. For some reason, Naruto felt like he had accomplished something.

It was now second period, and Naruto was excited yet apprehensive about introducing Sasuke to Lee. He was interested in helping Sasuke expand his social circle, but was concerned with expanding his circle to include Sasuke. Right after Naruto's parents died, he became much more conscious as to how many people he was close to. The pain he felt once his parents died was so indescribable that he was scared to let just anybody into his life with fear of them dying or leaving him. He looked over at Sasuke who was sitting on the bleachers beside him, looking at the immense field that surrounded them. Naruto was a little more reserved around Sasuke because he didn't want to annoy the boy with his constant rantings.

Sasuke was growing accustomed to having Naruto around him all the time. Usually he was alone during school. It was hard for him to make friends because most people viewed him as cold, mean, and arrogant. _"If they only knew.."_ he thought. There were a few moments of silence before Sasuke turned towards Naruto. The kid was sleeping. Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed as nudged the blond with his fist.

"Hey wake up."

"Ugh. Fineeee, I'm up," came a whining voice.

"Sleepy?"

"No, Bored."

Sasuke thought inwardly with a frown, _"Am I that boring?"_

His thoughts were suddently interrupted by a loud booming voice. "BLONDIE!" Naruto smiled to himself as he saw Lee running towards them.

"BUSHY BROWS!" retorted Naruto with a happy, excited tone. "Hey Lee, this is Sasuke Uchiha. He's the new kid I'll be showing around."

"Ohhhhh. Hey Sasuke! Everybody here calls me Lee."

"Hello.. Lee," came a hesitant voice.

Naruto gave Lee a look and said, "He's just shy, give him a little time and he'll probably be chattier than I am."

With an almost annoyed look, Sasuke replied, "highly doubtful."

Lee gave out a nervous laugh and asked the two what they were up to. "I just got up from a nap," giggled Naruto.

"Oh man," laughed Lee. "So Sasuke, you know about Uzumaki's little condition don't you?"

"SHUT UP BUSHY BROWS!" exclaimed an irate Naruto.

Sasuke shot Lee a curious look.

"You see, Naruto is someone that needs continuous interaction, attention, or stimulus to keep him awake. I remember this one time Naruto came over for dinner and my dad kept talking about his work and his company. Then all of a sudden there was a loud boom and we all turned to see Naruto head down on the dinner table sleeping. HAHAHA. It was so funny I couldn't believe it," chuckled Lee.

"I'm going to your house tonight and while you're sleeping, I'm going to shave off your eyebrows," glared Naruto.

While Naruto and Lee continued bickering, all Sasuke could do was think, _"So I am boring… I'm like Lee's dad." _The thought of him being able to put someone to sleep was rather disturbing.

"Anyway do you guys want to join us in playing football on the field?" asked Lee.

"Yeah, it'll give me a chance to kick your ass," replied a cocky and still agitated Naruto.

The two looked at Sasuke and waited for his answer. "Yeah, sure why not?"

"ALRIGHT IT'S ON NOW!" yelled Naruto as he patted Sasuke on the back.

It was now time third period, English, with Mr. Hatake. The blond was ecstatic as Sasuke and him made their way to class after their football game.

"We TOTALLY kicked ass," Naruto chided.

"Yes that we did," said Sasuke with an amused face. Uchiha was very competitive by nature because of the constant comparison many of his family would make to his brother Itachi. Naruto, on the other hand, was competitive for the attention that usually came from winning.

"May I ask why you are so cheery right now, Uzumaki?"

It took all of his strength for Naruto not to gasp at the fact that Sasuke was actually asking a question rather than the other way around. "Well it's third period! It's one of my favorite classes."

"What is our third period anyway, I believe you still have my schedule."

"Oh, he..he.. Sorry. I must have totally forgotten that I still had it. But third period is Literature. All we do in there is read, and the teacher is pretty cool too."

"Well isn't that interesting, you seem to hate the subject I enjoy, and I hate the subject you seem to enjoy," replied a defeated Sasuke.

_"That was a really long sentence…" _Naruto thought as he laughed at the dark-haired boy who was now slightly opening up.

"What's so funny?"

"You!!" chirped Naruto.

_"I'm funny…?"_ Sasuke thought as he saw Naruto pick up speed in front of him.

"Come on slow poke. We've got 2 minutes!"

Now situated in the Literature class, Sasuke found himself sitting beside Naruto again. There was such a big difference in Naruto from math class to this class, he noticed how much more focused Naruto was and how he seemed to genuinely enjoy reading the packets that Sasuke found boring and pointless. Sasuke would laugh inwardly when he heard the muffled gasps Naruto made while reading the packet. For now, Sasuke forced himself to go through the packet, disinterested and losing himself to the quiet of the room. He couldn't believe the teacher was just up at his table reading as well. The class was just so damn still aside from the rustling of papers, _"at least in math class the teacher would lecture instead of sitting there like a bump on a log," _he thought.

It seemed like hours, 10 or maybe 20 hours, before the bell rang to Sasuke's relief.

"You ready to get out of here?" said a jovial and energetic voice.

"Yeah, thank god that's over."

The two got up and packed their bags before heading to the fourth period. "Alright, guess this is where we part ways for the day," Naruto said with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"You mean until tomorrow?" Sasuke said in an almost sarcastic, almost caring way.

"Hehe yeah. Well have fun in track! From what I could see when we played football you're pretty fast."

"Thanks. Well you have fun… swimming."

Naruto gave Sasuke a smile, before waving at the dark haired boy. Sasuke was almost jealous of the blond boy's smile. The way his eyes would always reflect the light, the way the sun complemented his hair color, and how his skin glowed. Sasuke then thought of his own smile and how he was teased one time when one of his classmates back in middle school asked him to smile. He remembered their horrified looks as they looked at his uncomfortable, unnatural, and forced smile. Of course the Uchiha boy was handsome, but there was something about that smile that made it obvious there was something going on in the inside.

Practice was already over for Naruto, yet he stayed in the pool against Coach Baki's wishes to do a few more laps before heading home. However, Baki knew this is exactly why Naruto was their captain of their swim team, because he pushed himself so much more in swimming than the rest of his peers. There was something about being in the water that let Naruto remember his parents so vividly. The colors and memories that would flood Naruto's mind in the pool were much more intense than memories he had anywhere else.

--------------------flasback----------------------

_"Naruto, come here, look at this," said a blonde woman._

_  
As Naruto went over to his mom, he looked up at her face, "Yes, mom?"_

_  
"Look at the horizon, dear. Do you see that?"_

_With a giggle Naruto replied, "Mom, stop being weird. Of course I see it, that's the sun and that's the water."_

_As Mrs. Uzumaki picked up her son, "No, Naruto it's not just that. When I look at the setting sun and the ocean, I always feel like I see my life in front of me."_

_  
A little Naruto looked up at his mom a little confused. "You're life is the sun and ocean?"_

_With a giggle, Naruto's mom lovingly replied, "No, dear, it's just the sun or the ocean, it's what they represent. The water represents the fluidity of life. It can be so calm and beautiful, but at the same time it can be restless and destructive. Just remember Naruto, life will make you happy at times and will try you, but always remember that the stronger the storm, the longer the following calm."_

_  
With a nod to his mother, Naruto hugged his mother and looked out at the ocean. Then it struck him, "Mom, how about the sun? What does the sun represent?"_

_"To me, the sun is the cause of all life. Without it, the ocean would be a dead thing, not full of any life. The sun is you and your father, my dear Naruto."_

_"Mom…"_

_Mrs. Uzumaki looked down at her son who was looking up at her while holding her tight._

_"You and dad are my sun," and with that the young Naruto closed his eyes and rested his head on his mother._

_------------------end of flashback--------------------_

Naruto pushed harder. His arms, sides, chest, and back where already fatigued from training with Coach Baki. But swimming was his way of being with his parents while they were gone. He could almost remember the smell of his mom's perfume, the feel of his dad's prickly chin as his dad rested his chin on his head as a child. As soon he reached out for the edge of the pool at the end of his lap, he felt a sharp pain in his side, and finally decided to retreat back to the shower room.

Sasuke had impressed many of his coaches on his first day of track. He was good, really good, at running whether it was distance running or short distance sprints. Of course Sasuke was good at running. The day his mother left, Sasuke ran out of the house and ran until his legs felt like his bones had disintegrated. The pain that he felt earlier at his mother's abandonment was all of a sudden forgotten as his body focused on propelling him forward while his heart couldn't break because his body needed it to keep going. From that point on, Sasuke used running as a way of focusing and forgetting.

As soon as Sasuke was trying to leave the locker room, he heard a rather familiar voice coming from the shower room. Curious as to who was still there at this time, Sasuke walked over and peeked into the shower room.

Standing in the back of the steamy shower room was a blond boy with a speedo on. _"Naruto…"_ Sasuke thought. He could hear a sniffle as the blond wiped his nose, then placed both hands on the wall of the shower room.

"You have to be strong, HAVE TO BE," Naruto yelled at himself.

Sasuke continued to watch the blond with what he described as curious concern. His eyes continued to look at Naruto's rather impressive figure. He felt jealousy once again. The blonde had a well toned upper body from swimming, which could be seen whenever the blond moved his body. Each movement would make the muscles underneath his tight skin contract creating beautiful shadows on the blond's body. His golden skin now had warm undercurrents from the warm water running down his back. Naruto turned around to get the shampoo from the ground which shocked Sasuke to retreat back behind the wall. After a few moments, the dark haired boy decided be more cautious as he took another glimpse. Naruto's eyes were closed as he worked up the lather on the top of his head. This time however, Sasuke got to see the front side of Naruto rather than his back. The boy's face was flushed while his golden hair was sticking to his skin. Sasuke felt envy rush over him once again. Naruto's entire body seemed to be chiseled, from his calves and thighs, to his chest and abs. The man in the speedo, who now had a rich white lather on the top of his head, reached for a soap bar and began lathering himself up. All of a sudden, Naruto pulled down his speedo and was completely nude. At that point, Sasuke decided it was enough and that the blond should be okay. With that he left the locker room and the blond.

As Sasuke walked over to his car, he had a lot on his mind. Why had he stared at Naruto for so long? Sasuke made himself believe that he was concerned for the boy who had showed him kindness. Then why did I study him so down to detail? He let himself believe it was out of plain jealousy and envy. He then thought about his body, which compared to Naruto's, was much more slender with much less definition in his upper body because running, of course, built more lower body endurance and muscle. Feeling complacent about his musings, he got in his car and drove home.

_"Ah, time to go home,"_ Naruto thought as he got out of the shower and peered into a mirror with nothing more on than a slipping white towel which was now around his hips. As he looked at his face, he could see his mother's blonde hair and blue eyes as he stared as his reflection, and he could see his dad's strong jawline and nose as well. He smiled. _"I hope I make you guys proud."_

https://webspace(dot)utexas(dot)edu/ijs58/adagio4(dot)jpg

He went back to his locker and pulled out his cell phone to call the driver to come and pick him up.

"Yes sir, I will be right there. Give me 10 minutes."

With that Naruto began drying off his hair and changed into his clothes before going outside to wait for his ride home. He noticed it was now very late in the afternoon, but he felt like he accomplished so much in the day.

He felt good about being able to help Sasuke Uchiha around. The new kid was very mysterious which made Naruto want to know more. He felt like a detective on an important case, but more importantly he felt somehow fulfilled because he felt that his presence kept Sasuke from feeling lonely. After all, for quite a few years, after his parents deaths, Naruto knew the definition of lonely. He heared the hum of a car engine as it made its way to park infront of Naruto.

As he got in he apologized to the driver, "Thanks for picking me up, I didn't mean to stay this long after practice. I'm sorry."

"It was no problem at all, sir. Let's get you home," smiled the driver. Naruto gave him a nod accompanied with by a pleasant curve in his lips. The driver had been working for Naruto since his parents died 5 years ago. As Naruto grew up, the driver thought he was going to lose his job because he figured Naruto would want to get his own car by the time he came of age. However, to the driver's relief, Naruto opted not to get a car for the blond was still quite afraid of driving after his parents passed away in a car crash.

Before the young blond was so hushed and detached from the world, but as he got older everyone saw a gradual change. He was amazed at how Naruto grew, and was even more amazed at how humble the young man was even with all his wealth. As they reached the Uzumaki household, the driver thought, about how happy he was to be working for such a fine young man. The other people he used to work for, before Naruto, were arrogant, demanding, and rude.

"Sir, we're here."

"Thank you so much, I'll see you bright and early in the morning?"

"Of course, sir."

"Would you like anything tomorrow for breakfast, Iruka said he was thinking of making croissants for tomorrow?"

"Yes, sir. That sounds like a good way to wake up," said the driver with a reply.

"I will make sure to save one for you," Naruto replied with a smile as he closed the door to the car and walked into his house. He saw Iruka laying on the couch in the main living room watching one of his shows.

"Ah finally back are we," said Iruka while keeping his eyes latched on the TV.

"Yes, and judging the couch, you've been sitting there for a few hours."

"I can't help it, they're having a marathon of my favorite show."

Naruto walked over to his guardian and flopped down onto the couch to join Iruka. That night Naruto and Iruka just spent the night relaxing on the couch, eating popcorn and chips. The only time the two would talk to each other was during the commercials because, as ashamed as Naruto was about it, he actually got pulled into the story of murderous housewives, dead bodies, cheating, and lying.

As soon as the last episode ended, Iruka yawned, "Naruto, it's time for be-"

The blond had already fallen asleep. With a caring smile, Iruka grabbed some pillows and laid Naruto down onto the couch. He then grabbed Naruto's favorite blankets from his room and placed it over the sleeping boy.

"Good night, Naruto," he whispered as he kissed the boy on his forehead.


	4. Adagio IV, prelude to Andante

**ADAGIO 4**

As Sasuke got out of his car, he couldn't help but have an uneasy feeling as he first walked into the school without knowing where either Lee or Naruto were. He didn't know who he would hang around with while waiting for his first class to start.

To his surprise, he heard someone call to him, "Hey Sasuke, over here!"

As he looked towards where the voice was coming from, he saw Lee waving to him.

Sasuke felt a little relieved as he made his way towards the boy he met the other day. Beside Lee was another boy, who had red hair and dark lined eyes that studied him as he walked towards the two.

"Hey Lee."

"G'morning!" exclaimed Lee with a smile, "By the way, let me introduce you to oen of my friends. This is Gaara. Gaara this is Sasuke."

All Gaara did was nod which was returned by another nod from Sasuke.

"Hey Naruto's here," clamored Lee as he saw Naruto's car come up to the curb. _"Thank god too because these two are killing my mood."_

Sasuke gawked at the large black sedan coming towards the drop off area. _"So the kid is rich… REALLY RICH."_

As the blond got out of the car, he told the driver, "Thanks, I'll see you later today!"

"Thanks again, sir. I will see you later." And with that Naruto closed the door to the car and seemingly bounded towards Sasuke, Lee, and Gaara.

"Hey everybody!" He noticed an odd silence, "Why is everybody so quiet?"

"Call it an awkward silence," replied Lee.

Lee didn't have to say anymore. Naruto knew how shy Sasuke was, but he also knew how unwelcoming Gaara could be to new people, especially if they were to invade his space.

"So, Sasuke, are you ready for a GREAT day of school?" asked Naruto with a bit of sarcasm.

"I don't really have a choice do I?" replied Sasuke. His dark eyes looked at Naruto wondering how the blond boy could seem so distraught the other day to being so happy the next. Then it struck him, again, the image of Naruto's body--wet and glowing. Sasuke shook his head furiously to try to get the image out of his head.

"Are you alright there, Sasuke," Naruto asked with a bit of fear at the seizure-like movements.

Sasuke immediately stopped shaking his head and managed to say, "Yeah, I'm fine."

"He has fleas or something. Let's go dip him," said a stoic Gaara.

_"I'm not going to like this Gaara guy too much am I?"_ thought an enraged Sasuke. The dark haired boy looked at Gaara and smugly replied, "While we're dipping me for fleas, why don't we wash your eye make-up off."

"Hmphf," was Gaara's stiff reply as he turned his head around.

"Alright guys calm down. Geez. Forgive him, Sasuke, he's not usually like this," smiled the blond.

"I would hope not," Sasuke answered with a scathing tone.

"And you Gaara, be nice, he's new remember."

"Ugh. I'll TRY."

"Thanks, Gaara."

"NARUTO, GAARA, LEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" The last name in particular was almost growled out.

The four boys turned around to see the loud mouthed, pink haired girl skipping towards them with her skirt flying up and down showing the higher part of her thighs to the boys. Behind her were Ino and Hinata who were looking at the ground, appalled at her behavior.

Gaara immediately hit Lee under the chin to shut his gaping mouth, "Focus."

"And who might your new friend be?"

Naruto chimed in and introduced Sasuke to Sakura, Hinata, and Ino. The girls introduced themselves to Sasuke and he did the same. Surprisingly, he did not show any interest in any of the three prettiest girls on campus.

Pleased with the introductions yet still disgusted in Sakura's previous skip fest, Hinata invited the four boys to a get together at her house the following Friday. All the boys, except Sasuke, sounded excited about the prospective party and said they would be there. Naruto then nudged Sasuke to answer, "Yeah, sounds great," came a flat voice.

"GOOD! I wouldn't have taken no for an answer anyway," grinned the kindhearted Hinata. "We'll see you guys later. Sasuke, nice to meet you." Sasuke gave her a nod, and with that Hinata, Ino, and Sakura went off to first period.

"I think the new guy is gay," blurted Sakura as they got further away from the boys.

"WHAT!? Sakura don't go accusing people when you just met them, it's not respectable," argued Hinata.

Ino, taking interest in the conversation, "What makes you think he's gay, Sakura?"

"Uhm, HELLOOOOOO EARTH TO INO! We're like the cutest girls in this damn school, and he didn't even twitch when he saw us. I even whipped out my sexy skip. That's pretty much a red flag, let's drop the disco ball, bring out the sirens, ding-ding sign that he is gay."

"It's none of our business you two. Leave him alone," barked Hinata.

"I was just saying Hinata. No need to get touchy. It's not like I have any problems with gays," answered Sakura, worrying that her friend was upset with her.

"Of course you don't, every time you hit on a guy, you basically turn them gay. I mean, that forehead is just plain MENACING, look at it, it's HUGE" chuckled Ino as she pointed. "Honestly, I'm surprised Lee hasn't jumped over to the other side."

With blood rushing to her face, Sakura clenched her fist and was about to connect it to Ino's face, when Hinata grabbed Sakura's hand and chastised Ino for making fun of Sakura.

"Come on guys the bell's going to ring soon." With that Naruto and Sasuke walked to their first period class, as did Lee and Gaara.

"That Gaara guy doesn't like me very much does he?" asked Sasuke to the blond.

"It's not that… He's just very protective of his close friends. He sees strangers as threats until he gets to know you, then it's not so bad," Naruto assured.

"How long have you known those two, Naruto?"

"Since we were in 1st grade we've always been around each other. You see, each of us were designated losers as kids. Everyone just pointed and laughed at us, so we found strength in each other, and it's been that way ever since. Do you have any friends that you've known for long? It must have been hard to move away from your old school."

"Not really. No one really talked to me which made me not want to talk to them either."

"You talk now, though, huh?" chirped Naruto.

Sasuke thought about it for awhile, "Yeah, I guess. So what's our schedule for the day?"

Naruto pulled out his schedule, "It looks like history for 1st, science for 2nd, Latin for 3rd, and then you have track and I have swimming for 4th. Ugh. I hate B days. That's a lot of hard classes in a row."

Sasuke looked at Naruto, "It's not that bad."

"I hope not."

Stepping into history, they greeted their teacher Kabuto Yakushi who made the general introduction of the new kid to the rest of the class. This same introduction happened at the beginning of each class and by the time 3rd period came along everybody seemed agitated with the repetitious introduction of one Sasuke Uchiha.

"B days went by so much slower than A days," thought a bored Naruto. He felt himself falling asleep again, but to his relief the bell marking the end of third period rang. Naruto couldn't have been happier when 3rd period was over and he could go swim again.

As Naruto and Sasuke made their way out of class, Sasuke looked at the exasperated blond, "So it really was that bad huh?"

"Yeah. I'm going to need to bring coffee to school on B days. It's ALL the boring classes," whined Naruto.

"So what are you doing after you swim today?"

"Nothing in particular."

"How about you, Sasuke, what are you doing after track?"

"I don't really know. I was thinking of staying here a little longer after practice to run more."

"I do that all the time too, " rejoined Naruto with amusement, "except swimming instead of running."

"Yeah I kno—" replied Sasuke before he could think about what his answer meant.

"What, how did you know?" asked a curious Naruto.

Sasuke searched for answers, SEARCHED HARD for an appropriate response, "Well I mean you are the swim team captain right? I bet you have to work hard to get that position." Sasuke sighed privately, "_Genius answer_."

"Yeah, but it's not just that. Swimming is important to me…" Naruto trailed off with a look of sorrow in his eyes.

_"I wonder what it is about swimming that makes him happy, yet sad at the same time.." _wondered Sasuke. The dark haired boy tried to change the subject, because he felt guilty for bringing the blond's mood down. "Sorry, Naruto."

Naruto, realizing he was showing a side of himself he usually never shares, looked up and changed his facial expression completely, "What do you mean? Sasuke, nothing's the matter," grinned Naruto.

Sasuke looked at the blond with a slight frown on his face, "If you say so." Sasuke could see that Naruto was hiding something behind that forced smile and those words. After that they walked in an uneasy silence to their last class of the day.

Naruto sensing the seriousness of the mood, lightened things up, "It's important to me because… It gives me this killer body," grinned Naruto.

_"Yeah it is a pretty killer body,"_ thought Sasuke as he remembered the envy he felt upon seeing the speedo clad Naruto in the shower. "Why did I bother asking..." sounded a defeated Sasuke. "You are… ugh."

"Wonderful and cute," laughed Naruto as he batted his eyes.

Sasuke couldn't help but roll his eyes and snicker at the blond.

When they got to the door that marked the entrance to the pool, Naruto waved to Sasuke as they parted ways for the day.


	5. Andante I

Note: I DON'T OWN NARUTO.

ADANTE: Going, moving, a moderate tempo; used as a playing direction in music.

**ADANTE 1. A WEEK LATER. THURSDAY**

In a week's time, Sasuke and Naruto got closer. They began to trust each other, laugh together or sometimes even at each other. At first, Sasuke was hesitant in having Naruto in most of his classes, thinking the chatty blond would get on his nerves. But now, Sasuke dare not imagine what his school life would be like if Naruto wasn't there to help him. He had grown a strong bond towards the blond. The dark haired boy was even able to work out his differences with Gaara, and now instead of fighting, they nod at each other in quiet affirmation. The usual three boys had gradually become four—Naruto, Lee, Gaara, and now Sasuke. Which was an odd sight considering Naruto and Lee who were conversational and jovial around Gaara and Sasuke who were more quiet and watchful. Naruto believed they all got along because of how they balanced each other out.

Naruto noticed that the calm and ease he felt around Gaara and Lee was now the same feeling he got around Sasuke. And with that Naruto saw his life embracing Sasuke into it. He wanted so much to help Sasuke feel like he had a place because, out of all people, Naruto knew how loneliness spiraled down, and he wanted to spare Sasuke from going through the same emotions he went through a few years earlier. The blond also liked how Sasuke fit in with his friends, and how, now, Gaara had someone similar to him in the group. Naruto was also impressed in how Sasuke was getting more conversational, with him at least. He remembered how stoic Sasuke was the first day of school and how he even fell asleep beside the dark haired boy.

In the mornings, the four boys would be found hanging out beside a bench under a tree, sometimes with Hinata, Sakura, and Ino joining them. Out of the three girls, Sasuke found Hinata to be someone he could be around without feeling uncomfortable. Sakura and Ino on the other were always arguing and picking on each other. Sasuke couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Hinata who always ended up standing between the two.

"Hey guys, remember, my house tomorrow. I will be expecting all of you there," smiled Hinata.

"Of course, you can count on us!" exclaimed Naruto who was beside Lee, Gaara and Sasuke who all nodded in agreement.

Hinata then turned around and walked to class with Sakura and Ino.

It was just a regular Thursday (a B day), with History, science, and Latin. Naruto despised B days because he found the subjects boring, while Sasuke didn't mind them too much. After Latin was over, Naruto and Sasuke walked together until they parted ways to the swimming pool and track. Their conversations on the way became more relaxed, rather than forced questions and answers.

"Alright, buddy, I'll see you later," said Naruto as he made his way to the pool area.

"Yeah, later, Naruto," replied Sasuke with ease.

As soon as Naruto was done with practice, he showered and got ready to leave. But as he walked outside, he saw someone wearing a red tank top and black shorts still running around the field. _"Sasuke?"_ Naruto walked over and entered the field. The dark haired boy was still running around the track, so Naruto decided to sit down on a bench and watch Sasuke.

The dark haired boy didn't even recognize someone was right there. When Sasuke ran, his body and mind only focused on propelling his body forward.

"_He hasn't even noticed me yet,"_ mused Naruto. All of a sudden, Sasuke stopped running a little ways away from Naruto. Not noticing the blond, Sasuke took off his shirt to cool down, and plopped on the track holding his left calf with a pained expression.

"ARE YOU OKAY!?" yelled Naruto as he ran towards Sasuke, offering his shoulder to the shirtless, sweaty boy. "You must have been training for at least 2 hours already."

Eyes wide in shock, _"How long has he been here?"_ he thought. Sasuke only managed to eep out a "Y—Yea." He felt Naruto look at him and got extremely self conscious. _"He's probably looking at me and laughing at how scrawny I am. God and I probably stink too," _he thought with his eyes facing the ground.

Naruto could only admire what he saw in front of him. Sasuke pushed himself as hard as he pushed himself in swimming. The usually composed Uchiha had a flushed face and was breathing extremely fast in low tones trying to catch his breath. Naruto gulped. He only heard that kind of breathing after a couple from one of Iruka's shows had sex. Not only that, but Sasuke had droplets of sweat running down his body to the waist band of his shorts, trailing a dangerous route. Naruto could see Sasuke's chest and abs flex and release as he breathed. Jealously washed over Naruto as he looked at Sasuke's lean muscular legs which had visible veins around the calf area.

https://webspace(dot)utexas(dot)edu/ijs58/adagio3(dot)jpg

"_Damn my chicken legs,"_ Naruto thought. Feeling himself getting caught up in the sight, "You're sure you're alright Sasuke?"

After pulling the shirt over his torso, Sasuke felt more at ease as he replied, "Yea, I'm sure."

"Yeah sure, that's why your leg is swelling up. You can't even stand up, can you?" retorted Naruto.

"I told you I'm fine. I do this all the time. I run and I forget sometimes what my limits are."

"Bullshit. My guardian is a doctor, just let him look at it, ok?"

"You are not going to leave me alone until I do are you?" said an exhausted Sasuke.

"Nope, come on let's go, I'll call the driver to pick us up."

"I can't leave my car here, Naruto. How about I just drive us to your house?"

"Oh, that's fine, as long as I don't have to drive."

"Spoiled brat," smirked Sasuke.

Naruto gave a slight laugh. _"If you only knew Sasuke. It's not that I'm spoiled, I've never been able to get behind the wheel after losing my parents."_

The blue eyed boy pulled out his cell phone and dialed the driver, "Hey sorry to keep you waiting again. My friend is going to take me home because I want Iruka to look at his leg. Have a good night and I'll see you tomorrow." Naruto smiled and closed the phone as the walked over to the lone car in the parking lot.

Sasuke grinned, _"He considers me a friend…" _He knew they were friends, but something about hearing it from Naruto reassurred him that much more.

Naruto had to help Sasuke to his car. Once they got situated, Sasuke drove them to the Uzumaki mansion. The car ride circled in a playful argument about how each of them was stubborn and impossible to deal with. Naruto noticed that these kinds of playful fights were similar to the one's he had with bushy brows. Naruto looked over at Sasuke. He was glad he was becoming close with Sasuke. Then a pang of realization hit Naruto on the back of his head. _"Why the hell was I checking him out earlier?" _Naruto almost panicked in the seat and reassured himself that normal guys compared their bodies to other guys. _"Yeah it was normal,"_ he pleaded with himself.

"We're here!" cheered Naruto.

Sasuke's jaw dropped at the large house guarded by a large gate. Naruto pressed a button on his key ring that opened the gate. The house had large Roman columns supporting the two story house which created a regal aura around the Uzumaki household. Sasuke parked his car right in front of the entrance to the house. Naruto went to help Sasuke up and out of the car. The dark haired boy winced at the pain caused by his movements and put his arm around Naruto's shoulders to help balance himself. It took a few minutes to get to the white door that marked the entrance into the house which was 4 times taller than they were.

"How do you plan on opening that door Naruto? It must weigh a ton?"

"It's not that bad Sasuke, look," Naruto replied as he pushed the door open with one hand.

"Oh.. that's interesting."

"Haha, yeah, Gaara and Lee were amazed about the difference in the door's size and its weight."

"Naruto, you're finally home!" exclaimed Iruka as he made his way to towards Naruto, but was suddenly surprised at the sight of the boy hanging onto Naruto. "Is he alright?"

"Well, he was running and then he stopped. It can't be a cramp because the pain is still present. So I'm thinking it's a sprain."

Sasuke blinked at Naruto, stunned at how the usually clueless blond who suddenly became all knowing.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle, "You swear I'm stupid Sasuke. Haha. I live with a doctor for crying out loud."

"Let's sit him down and make sure his leg is stretched out, okay, Naruto?" Iruka stated.

Naruto led Sasuke to the living room where he sat Sasuke down on the large couch Iruka usually watched TV on. Then the blond boy got an ottoman and told Sasuke to place his injured leg on it. After Sasuke situated his leg on the ottoman, Iruka then started pressing around Sasuke's leg. Sasuke winced at the pressure Iruka applied to his swollen leg.

"Found it," said Iruka.

"Found what," asked Sasuke preparing for the worst.

Iruka smiled up at the dark haired boy, "It's just a sprain in your calf muscle. You should be fine in a day or two, because the tear doesn't feel deep." Iruka then turned to Naruto, "Could you please get me some ibuprofen and a towel with ice please?"

"On it!" replied an excited Naruto. _"I feel like I'm in surgery,"_ giggled the blond.

After a few minutes, Naruto returned and Iruka thanked him for retrieving the items.

Sasuke looked at the two helping him, "So what is all that suppose to do?"

Iruka assured Sasuke that it was just to keep the swelling down and to stop the pain.

The dark haired boy was so relieved to hear that the pain would soon stop. "Thank you… Naruto… and Iruka."

"It's no problem at all," grinned Iruka and Naruto. "You can stay here until the swelling and pain are lessened, okay? It should only take a few hours before you can walk without feeling the muscle pain."

"Th..thank you."

"All right, well I will leave you two here. I'm going to go watch my shows in my room. Let me know if you need anything else okay?" And with that Iruka walked down one of the long corridors to his room.

The two of them were left in the room with nothing but a large television and a black baby grand piano. There was a silence in the room between the two, but it wasn't like the others that the two had. This silence was actually comfortable. Sasuke was looking around the living room, looking at the paintings and luxurious decorations. On the other hand, Naruto was trying to find a good show on TV, but was sadly disappointed. He turned off the TV and placed the remote on the table infront of them.

As Naruto sat back down onto the couch, Sasuke said, "Naruto… I really appreciate… all you've done for me."

The blond cast his eyes to look at Sasuke who was now fiddling with his shirt. "It's nothing at all," he reassured.

Sasuke gave a slight smile at his shirt, trying to hide it from Naruto.

"Are you comfortable, Sasuke? Is there anything else you need?"

"No, I'm fine now."

"_Uh-oh. There's silence again. The uncomfortable one. I need to do something…,"_ Naruto thought. "I got it! How about I play something for you on the piano? It'll help relax you. What's your favorite piano piece?"

"Really, Naruto, you don't need to play the piano."

"Well, I want to," stammered the blond. "Now pick something for me to play."

Sasuke wasn't too well versed in piano pieces. He looked at Naruto, "I don't really know the names of any pieces… Why don't you pick one of your favorites?"

"Fine. I'll believe you this time. How about Canon in D? It was one of my recital pieces a few years back, and it's one of my favorites even now," gleamed the blond.

"That sounds fine," replied Sasuke. The raven haired boy couldn't believe how compassionate and caring the blond boy was towards a person he'd only known for a week. Not only did he introduce him to his friends, show him where his classes were, but even took care of him and was now going to play piano to try and relax him. _"I'm thankful for you, Naruto,"_ Sasuke whispered under his breath as Naruto got up and walked to the black baby grand piano in the corner of the room.

Sasuke watched his friend make his way to the piano which was elegant by itself. There was a large window beside the piano that let in orange-red rays of light from the setting sun outside. Naruto took a seat infront of the piano and looked at Sasuke to give him a smile. The entering light played on Naruto's features making eyes shine more. His golden hair now looked like it was shifted between the warm colors of the sun, and his skin blurred into the light. The vision was utterly ethereal. Naruto started to play and his gazed shifted down to the piano keys. The first few notes were delicate, slow, and lonely. There was a sorrow in those notes that Sasuke could relate to.

While playing, Naruto mentally went through black and white pictures of his family vacations as he relayed each of his longing memories through each deliberate note. Slowly, the notes became collated and the alacrity increased to a more moderate pace. It sounded happier than the first part of the song, yet there was still a feeling of sadness behind it. Once Naruto got to the signature part of the song, the piano came alive with the sound the blond manipulated out of the keys. Sasuke sat in admiration, listening and looking. He noticed that Naruto had now closed eyes and was pressing his fingers onto the keys delicately still, but more emotionally, with a smile. Unknown to Sasuke, Naruto smiled during this part of the piece because he thought of the people that stayed with him through hard times---Iruka, Lee, Gaara, and now maybe even Sasuke.

As the dark haired boy listened to the lovely notes coming from the piano and what seemed like Naruto's heart, he couldn't help but think that something Naruto was hiding from him, Sasuke could tell, but he dare not force it out of the blond. Then, the notes descended from their summit of pace and emotion and began to tumble back down to the pace the piece had at the beginning. Sadness again returned to the song, the piercing passion now diminished to what seemed like distraught solitude. The notes were no longer played together, rather there were played delicately with time between each note to give it time to rise and fall. Sasuke saw a change in the blond's face, he wasn't smiling anymore but had a rather sullen look on his face. The dark haired boy felt pressure in his eyes at how painfully heartrending the notes were. His eyes were now coated with a thin layer of tears as he watched Naruto who was going through his own set of emotions. Now that the song was nearing it's end, Naruto thought of his parents who were at his recital when he played this song. He especially remembered them as he played the last note because as soon as Naruto opened his eyes, he expected to see them there standing up and clapping like they did so many years ago. Naruto pressed the damper pedal to elongate the life of the last note, making it sound so heart breaking to Sasuke who was still watching his friend play. Even though the last note was fading away, Naruto kept his eyes closed and his finger on the key. The image of his smiling parents clapping was fading away with the note. And as it finally consumed by the silence, Naruto heard something he did not expect. He opened his eyes and saw Sasuke clapping and smiling, genuinely smiling at him, the kind that naturally forms without thinking about it or forcing it. Naruto felt himself relax as he saw that smile. A feeling of warmth and heartbreak came over Naruto. The warmth came from Sasuke, who clapping for Naruto… like his parents did. The heartbreak came from realizing his parents were still not there. However, Naruto admitted that there was something about Sasuke's presence that helped Naruto keep himself together.

"That was unbelievable, Naruto," Sasuke verbalized. In that moment, as Naruto looked at Sasuke, he saw something behind the dark usually matte, piercing eyes. Sasuke's eyes actually caught some of the dimming light coming from outside. _"Was he crying," _Naruto thought, _"Couldn't' be… right?"_

It took a little bit for Naruto to recompose himself, but he was able to muster out a reply, "Thanks Sasuke." He got up from the piano and walked his way back over to sit beside his injured friend.

"You want to watch some TV to pass the time?" asked Naruto as he reached for the remote control. Not even Sasuke could read the blond this time, it took so much for Naruto just to pretend he was okay after playing that piece.

Sasuke looked at the blond, "Now I have a favorite piano piece."

The blond turned and gave a quiet smile to Sasuke, "I'm glad you enjoyed it." And with that Naruto turned on the TV, praying something was on to cheer the room up.

Unknown to the two teens, Iruka slumped down to the floor of the hallway where he had been listening to the piano's sad tale. The usually poised Iruka began to cry to himself because he knew better than anyone of the journey of emotions Naruto went through as he played that one particular piece. "I'm here for you always… Naruto," he breathed inaudibly to the two in the living room.

An hour had past since Naruto played for Sasuke. The usually lively blond was now clutching a pillow and laying on his side. Sasuke was still sitting there with his leg wrapped in a cool towel which was set on the ottoman. Then, the dark eyed boy noticed a dripping sound coming from where his leg was. The towel was now leaking onto the floor. Not being able to get up on his own, he nudged Naruto a bit to wake him up.

The blond stirred. "Hey Naruto, sorry to disturb you, but uh… my leg is leaking?"

Naruto jolted up in panic, "What! Are you bleeding!?" As Naruto looked over at Sasuke's leg he felt relieved because it was only water leaking out of the towel. "Oh thank god," he exclaimed.

Sasuke was amused as he saw Naruto go from a state of panic to being relaxed. "I'm fine, Naruto, I just don't want to get the room wet."

"That shouldn't be a problem," said Naruto, "I'll just get another towel from Iruka's room."

"Isn't he probably asleep by now? I'd hate it if you woke him up on my behalf."

"You're probably right," replied Naruto as he was trying to figure a way to stop the dripping. "Oh I got it."

Naruto began to pull his shirt up over his head when Sasuke interrupted, "What are you doing?"

As Naruto pulled off his shirt, he looked at Sasuke, "I'm going to stop the dripping by placing my shirt under that towel."

Once again, the blond revealed his beautiful body to the dark eyed teen who was at the moment incapacitated on the couch. Sasuke sat there sneaking glances at Naruto who was now on his knees, gently raising Sasuke's leg. With each of Naruto's gentle movements, the boy's chest, arms, and back flexed as the shadows danced around his body. Naruto then placed his shirt under Sasuke's leg and carefully lowered it onto the dry shirt.

With his mouth slightly open, Sasuke pushed out, "Thank you. You've done so much for me already…"

Naruto looked at Sasuke who had a look of embarrassment on his face. "It's what friends do."

"_Yeah… friends..."_ Sasuke thought with a grin.

"Maybe you'll need another hour max before you can go home. However, you can stay here if you want, Sasuke."

Sasuke felt the guilt pile on top of each other inside him. "It's fine Naruto, I don't want to cause any more of an inconvenience to you and Iruka."

"Really, it's fine Sasuke. You can borrow some of my clothes. Geez it's only one night. Don't give me that inconvenience stuff, because that's not even the case. Anyway, we go to the same school. It's no big deal. Sheesh," replied a more playful Naruto.

Just then Iruka came out and chimed in, "I do believe it would be best for you to stay here for the night. The less stress you put on that leg, the better it will feel tomorrow. And if you're lucky you may be able to run tomorrow as well." Turning to Naruto, Iruka's eyes widened in complete and utter shock, "And why the hell are you shirtless, Naruto?"

"The towel was leaking onto the floor, and I thought you were sleeping, so I just used my shirt to stop the dripping," said an innocent, yet defensive Naruto.

"Alright well, go ahead and show Sasuke to your room and stay with him to make sure he doesn't take his leg out of its stretched position ok?"

"Yes sir."

"Good night you two."

"Good night."

Naruto lead Sasuke down a long hallway. To Sasuke's relief, the pain was less prominent than before, and his leg looked less swollen.

"I bet you want to take a bath huh, Sasuke?"

"What, do I stink?"

Naruto giggled and replied, "Yeah, you smell like the outside."

"Alright, just show me the way."

As Naruto opened the ornate door to his bedroom, Sasuke looked straight ahead at the large portrait of a young Naruto and his two parents. There was a large window beside the bed with white curtains which was now revealing the rising moon. Naruto's bed was huge and had elegant and ornate carvings on the posts. A spiral staircase lead to a two way door in the middle which lead to a balcony that overlooked the pond in their backyard. His attention shifted as Naruto lead him to the connecting bathroom. The bathroom had a shower which was surrounded by four panes of clear glass, an elegant bathtub that sat on golden legs, and a large mirror which was on top of a marble topped sink.

"Naruto.."

"Yes?"

"..you are soooo spoiled."

"Hehe, I'm really not."

"By the way Naruto, I saw that painting of you and your parents. Where are they? I haven't seen them all day."

He could see Naruto slump down a bit, _"Oh shit..."_ thought Sasuke realizing that he may have brought up a sensitive subject for Naruto.

But to his surprise, Naruto looked at him with a slightly painful smile, "They died... 5 years ago. Anyway, I'll go and get you a new towel and some clothes to sleep in. And while I do that, you can let the water run in the tub and fill it with any of the bubble bath mixes we have." Naruto got up slowly and walked towards the door, but not before looking back trying to smile at Sasuke to assure him that everything's okay.

Sasuke could feel a tug in his chest. _"After all Naruto did for me, I go and fuck it up like this," _he said, mentally beating himself up about his question. He was left there for awhile with his thoughts. He was feeling a pain similar to the one he felt when his mother walked out on them. He blamed himself for pushing her away, and now he was hurting Naruto—the first person who showed true compassion to him in years. He felt proverbial cracks forming in his chest and mask. The once cool and collected boy felt himself breaking down. The dark eyed boy was so very afraid that Naruto wouldn't want to be around him anymore. He thought of all the words he could say to prove how sorry he was for upsetting Naruto.

After a few minutes, Naruto returned to the bathroom and handed Sasuke a large white towel, and black pajamas. Naruto still had that painful smile on his face.

"Naruto I am SO sorry. I can't believe I was so stupid, I guess I just wasn't thinking about it… I'm really, really sorry," pleaded Sasuke.

"You're not stupid, Sasuke. And don't worry I'm fine. I'm not some poor, weak, defenseless kid, you know?" Naruto looked compassionately at his friend. _"Sasuke, who had only known him for a week was actually beating himself up for upsetting me." _

"I know you're not Naruto. I never said you were any of those. In fact, I think you're strong. It takes a lot to go through life with such feelings. Trust me, I—I—know," stuttered Sasuke who was now slumping down to the ground with blank eyes, using the wall to assist his descent.

Naruto sat beside Sasuke on the ground, putting his arm around the sullen boy. "What do you mean, you know?"

"Let's just say, I know what it's like to go through life feeling like something was taken away from you." Those dark eyes were fixed on the marble floor the entire time and silence surrounded them. The only sound coming from the room was the running water from the bathtub. Naruto's heart ached, he knew this boy… It was him. He wanted to comfort him so badly and let him know that everything will be fine.

All Naruto could do was hug the dark haired boy, which was reciprocated as Sasuke wrapped his arms around the blond's bare upper body. _"He's so warm, so comforting..."_ thought Sasuke.

The silence was broken as Naruto's gaze fell to the floor and said, "You know Sasuke, from the first day I met you, I recognized a bit of myself in your eyes. And now I can see why I can relate to you, why I was somehow drawn to being around you. Even if Tsunade didn't make me show you around, I know that you and I would have been friends regardless, because we share a certain sadness in our past."

Sasuke looked at Naruto as he spoke and felt a wave of relief flow through his chest. _"I finally have a someone. Someone that I know will always be there for me." _Taking it all in, Sasuke replied with a gentle smile at Naruto. "I'll be here for you Naruto."

Naruto looked back at Sasuke, "I'll be here for you too, Sasuke," grinned Naruto. An ease returned to the room as soon as Naruto said, "Now stop looking at my chest and go take a bath, you stink!" With that the blond splashed a little water on Sasuke playfully.

Sasuke smiled back and wiped his eyes. "WHAT!? I was not," Sasuke retorted. "Get over yourself, Naruto."

"Haha, I was just kidding Sasuke. But, seriously, you need to take a bath! So, I'll be outside, yell if you need anything."

Sasuke nodded and made sure to close the doors to the bathroom before he took off his clothes to lay himself into the warm, vanilla bath.

From outside, Naruto yelled, "KEEP THAT LEG STRETCHED!"

Naruto made his way up the spiral stair case in his room and walked out onto the balcony, and as he looked at the night sky, he realized why Sasuke was so uneasy around him the first day. They were both trying to hide feelings that they were still dealing with. However, the two were different in the type of mask they had created. Sasuke opted for a more indifferent, quiet mask which created by feelings of anger, while Naruto created one that was cheerful and comedic, created from feelings of longing. The amount of pain that Sasuke must have felt to let his mask crumble was familiar to Naruto. Naruto once compared it to feeling like a black hole was slowly growing inside your chest, engulfing everything that held you together, leaving you vulnerable and alone. Your bones couldn't hold you up, your chest felt robbed from air and heart, while your mind went completely blank. He felt terrible that he wasn't able to open up as much as Sasuke did tonight, but he believed that sooner or later, he would reveal himself to Sasuke, as he did with Iruka, Gaara, and Lee. _"Sasuke, believe me, I will protect the trust and friendship you've given. Just like I know you will protect the trust and friendship I've given you."_


	6. Andante II

I hope you guys are liking it so far. Please don't forget to leave reviews. I'd love to hear from all of you. This is my first fan-fic so please be nice and constructive. :D

ADANTE II.

By: Ian-Michael

Sasuke relaxed as he sank down into the warm, vanilla bath. He could feel his skin warm up as each of his body parts made contact with the water. The dark haired boy made sure to keep his leg stretched out as he basked in the steam rising from the water. To his surprise, his leg was actually beginning to ease as his body warmed. As he closed his eyes, the only senses that were still active were his sense of smell and touch. He liked the gentle aroma of the vanilla while the water tranquilized his body. His thoughts revolved around the rather eventful day that he compared to a rollercoaster because of all the highs and lows they experienced. Even when they were at the deepest low, Naruto had a way of always bringing the mood back up. For that, Sasuke was thankful.

Now, he felt bare to the blond who had dissolved his mask. Sasuke had allowed Naruto to see past the disguise that had taken years to create, and now Naruto knew that Sasuke wasn't just some quiet, stoic, boy, but rather a normal person dealing with problems that have yet be internally resolved. Sasuke could now relax around the blond, he didn't have to pretend to be anybody or anything, he could just be Sasuke.

Still on the balcony, Naruto continued to look at the stars and the moon. To him, time hadn't moved at all, the only proof that it still existed was the twinkling of the stars in the dark sky. He enjoyed the vista of night and how vast it was, he could even see the moon's reflection in the pond below. Suddenly, his skin tightened around his muscles as a light breeze grazed his naked torso, yet delighted in how the wind played with his hair.

As Sasuke got out of the bath, he quickly dried himself off with the large, plush blanket Naruto had given him and put on the black pajamas that Naruto left for him which was soft to the skin and hung loosely around his body. After placing the towel on the rack, he stepped back into Naruto's room.

"Hey, Naruto, where are you?"

"Up here. Come look at this."

Sasuke looked at the spiral staircase and gulped as he placed his injured leg on the first stair. He didn't care if it turned out to be a painful trip upstairs, he wanted to see what Naruto was looking at. Suprisingly, the trip up wasn't so bad as long as Sasuke kept his injured leg straight and used the railing to balance himself. After the last stair up, Sasuke relaxed as his vision was greeted with a shirtless Naruto looking up into the night.

"Hey," Sasuke said nonchalantly.

"Glad you could make it," smiled Naruto as he motioned Sasuke to stand beside him. "I see your leg is better."

"Yeah. It's not so bad anymore," answered Sasuke as he looked at the blond who was leaning on the balcony railing, smiling right at him.

"Look at it, Sasuke, isn't it beautiful," Naruto said as he turned his gaze back to the dark sky and pointed at moon in particular.

Sasuke diverted his attention away from Naruto to the moon which was full and pale blue. It wasn't as bright or as intense as the sun, but there was a calm and enigma about the moon that the sun could never achieve. To touch it felt merely inches away after staring at it for so long. "Yes, it is."

Naruto glanced at the dark haired boy beside him who had his attention on the moon. _"It's like he's studying it,"_ Naruto thought with a smirk. The usually fine yet dull features on Sasuke's face lit up in the moon. The seamless dark pools in Sasuke's eyes were now catching light and moving fluidly, his dark hair danced with the moonlight to create depth in the black strands, and his face had an airy glow that radiated from his porcelain skin.

Still looking at the moon, "You know, Naruto," Sasuke began, "my parents aren't with me either, or so they choose. My mother left us about 3 years ago for another man. She had left without saying goodbye to me or my brother Itachi. She hasn't tried to contact any of us in the time she's been gone. And my father… well… he's engrossed himself in work because he says he wants to provide for my brother and me. But I know why he works so much… he can't bear to look at my brother or me because we look like our mom. He's been heartbroken since and has yet to even go on a date with another woman. They had fought for so long, and it was during my mom's departure that my dad finally realized how important she was to him… but by that time, it was too late for my mom to love him again. I remember the day she left so vividly… dad and her were fighting so loud, louder than usual. And after an hour, she said she was leaving him and then got her new man to pick her up. As she slammed the door, I saw my dad go to his room and lock the door. I couldn't believe my eyes… so I went outside and ran, and RAN for what seemed like hours away from that house with THOSE memories, THOSE lies of being a family. I ran until I could no longer think about what just happened. I ran until my body gave out, and my mind went blank… I passed out then. Someone saw me on the sidewalk and called the ambulance. And even though people told me I was lucky that day… I felt like a part of me did die that day, that maybe a part of me wanted all of me to die."

Naruto continued to stare at the moon lit eyes. He could see pain with each word Sasuke pushed forth. Doing what came natural to him, Naruto placed an arm over Sasuke's shoulder and gazed up at the moon with Sasuke. He could feel shake as he comforted him. He couldn't believe how much the Sasuke opened up that night, and he felt honored that Sasuke would trust those feelings to him. It was at that moment, Naruto realized it was time for him to open up to Sasuke too.

"My parents died when I was 12, about 5 years back. I remember coming home from school to an empty house. I kept calling for them but no one answered. They were usually there to greet me and ask me about my day at school. So I went to my room and waited for hours for them to get home and I actually fell asleep. All of a sudden, I heard Iruka's voice calling my name. When I opened my eyes, I saw him there with such a pained expression on his face. He told me to sit up and I did. I asked him what was wrong and he had told me about the car accident my parents had gotten into a few hours ago. He said that they were hit by an eighteen wheeler and were now in the hospital in critical condition. Even at that age I knew critical condition wasn't a good thing. I could feel my throat get dry, as if my eyes were drying my body of all its water. He took me to go see them in the hospital. What I saw when I got there, were my parents beside each other on white beds, with oxygen masks on. I remember standing there for a long time with Iruka, waiting, praying for my parents to wake up. The joy I felt when their eyes opened was indescribable and they reached out for me. I stood between them, holding each of their hands. My mom's eyes were tearing up as she told me that she loved me. It killed me, she was usually so vibrant and lively… seeing her like that was heart breaking. After that my dad squeezed my hand and told me that I had to be strong for them… for me. They both closed their eyes then… and they held my hands so tight for as long as they could. I was trying not to cry, trying to be strong for my parents. All of a sudden, I heard a long monotone beep, followed by another. They were flatlining now… and as each of their hands lost their grip on my hands, I could feel my heart rip in two—as if each of them took one piece. I couldn't hold it in anymore. It came out, it all came out of my eyes… the pain, the loneliness. My parents died that day… while I held their hands, crying. The doctors and nurses apologized to me a million times over. Iruka was there that night and he has yet to ever leave me. After that people saw me as the poor kid who would suffer from losing his parents, they saw me as weak and depressed. People wondered if I would ever be happy again. But I will always remember my father's words to be strong… so I did. I showed people that I could be happy again." Naruto kept a strong face as he looked at the moon. His legs began to feel weak as he revisited these emotions, so he withdrew his arm from Sasuke's shoulder to hold onto the railing. "I loved them very much… sometimes it hurts just to remember I'm here without them. But… I regain strength daily from being around the people I care about the most… Iruka, Gaara, Lee, and now, you, Sasuke."

The dark haired boy had listened the entire time using not only his eyes and ears but also his heart. He couldn't believe that such an exubrant exterior could hide such dark emotions. Sasuke wrapped his arm around Naruto's shoulder, as Naruto had done earlier, trying to comfort his friend.

Naruto looked up at Sasuke, surprised that the dark eyed boy actually reached out for him. _"Something about being around Sasuke,"_ thought Naruto, _"gave him the strength to revisit all those unpleasant memories."_ With that, the blond laid his head on Sasuke's shoulder, feeling a sense of calm retrospect that didn't come from the moon, but rather the warm body beside him. So they stood there for awhile, looking at the still night. No words were necessary anymore, because they knew that the other would be there.

Another breeze swept by the balcony, this time more chilly than the previous. Sasuke could feel the shirtless Naruto shiver through the thin pajama material.

"Let's go inside before you get sick, Naruto," said Sasuke with a frown of concern.

"He… yeah it's getting kind of cold out here," chuckled Naruto.

As they approached the staircase, Sasuke looked back and saw Naruto look up once more to the sky and say, "Good night." And with that Naruto closed the door and helped Sasuke down the stairs.

"You can sleep on my bed," said Naruto.

"No, it's fine, I can sleep on the windowsill. It's the size of my bed at home," laughed Sasuke.

"Sasuke, you're a guest, you have to take the bed."

"Naruto, seriously, I want to sleep on the windowsill. I want to look at the moon some more."

"Then we could have just stayed outside longer," retorted Naruto.

"Yeah and you would have frozen into a popsickle."

Naruto gave him a giggle and agreed. He knew trying to argue with Sasuke would have made them stay up another hour or so. The blond went to fetch a comforter to lay on the windowsill so that the surface wasn't so hard, and some large pillows. Naruto proceeded to get the windowsill sleep worthy and then got Sasuke a blanket.

"I hope that's comfortable, Sasuke."

As the dark haired boy sat on the comforter, he was relieved that it actually cushioned the windowsill. "Yeah it's good," replied Sasuke as he laid his head on the pillows. "Thanks."

Naruto walked over to his large bed, a few feet away from where Sasuke was sleeping and pulled the blankets over him as he lay in bed. He laid on his side facing Sasuke, "Hey, Sasuke…"

The dark eyed boy turned on his side to face the blond. "Yeah?"

Delicate blue-gray light came from the window, no question originating from the moon, and shone down on Sasuke. Naruto loved the way the moon played on Sasuke's features. The dark haired boy's skin seemed ghostly and blurred under the moonlight, while his eyes sparkled. Even the usually raven color in his hair became an airy blue-gray.

"The moon light suits you," said Naruto with that always tender smile.

Sasuke's heart warmed at the complement. He didn't even know the blond looked at him so carefully. "The sun light suits you," he said gently, returning Naruto's smile.

"Good night, Sasuke."

"Good night, Naruto."

They both fell asleep that night with a smile.

TO BE CONTINUED.

Hope you guys liked it! More to come… Don't forget to leave a review.


	7. Andante III

**Alright guys some warning for this part: MAJOR OOC FROM ONE CHARACTER IN PARTICULAR. I AM ALSO IN THE MIDST OF FINALS, SO I APOLOGIZE IF THERE ARE ANY GRAMMATICAL OR SPELLING ERRORS. LORD… I NEED SOMEONE TO HELP ME BETA.**

I'm writing this because I find the best parts of a fic are the interactions that make up a relationship between Naruto and Sasuke. I don't like delving into the yaoi lemony stuff just yet. Relax though it shall come… in time :D

Hope you enjoy!

ADANTE III.

By: Ian-Michael

The next day started off normal enough. Lee and Gaara were outside talking with Hinata, Ino, and Sakura. Hinata was especially cheerful this morning because of the get together she planned later on in the day. Sakura, as usual, was teasing Lee with what outfits she was planning on wearing to the party, while Ino and Gaara looked on with disgust.

"…I was thinking something with lace… maybe sheer, to match my underwear. What do you think Lee?" asked Sakura, as Ino rolled her eyes.

Gaara had to nudge speechless Lee to reply. "O—Oh... that sounds fine," Lee gulped.

Looking around, Hinata couldn't help but notice that Sasuke and Naruto were still missing. "Hey do you guys know where Naruto and Sasuke are? I mean it's normal for Naruto to be late, but Sasuke is usually here around the same time as we are."

Lee and Gaara looked at each other and shrugged, not knowing the whereabouts of the other two.

The pink haired girl looked around to see if she could spot the two. Suddenly, the Sakura exclaimed, "THERE'S SASUKE'S CAR! YAYYYY I FOUND HIM FIRST!" as she saw him drive up to the parking lot beside them.

"Ugh. You are so embrassing," said Ino with a scowl.

All of five of them were about to greet Sasuke as he parked and opened his door. But to their surprise they saw the passenger side door open as well. All of them leaned to the side to see who the passenger was.

Hinata saw blond hair just above the passenger side door, "Na—Naru—to?" In all her life she had never seen Naruto ride with anybody else but his usual driver. With her mouth gaping open she put up her hand to wave.

Sakura turned to see Hinata's surprise, and whispered to her friend, "Hey, remember how I said I thought Sasuke was gay? Well don't get mad, but it looks like Naruto might be too. Maybe that's why they've been spending so much time together."

"You can't be serious," replied Hinata with agitation. "Naruto can't be gay, he's the best looking guy in the school. And he's said I was pretty on many an occasion."

Sakura smirked, "And when was the last time he had a girlfriend?"

Hinata thought about it for awhile, "Hm, I don't remember him ever having a girl--Oh… my… God. What if you're right?" She ended her sentence with a distraught face, while Sakura pat her back to console her.

Annoyed with Sakura, Ino shoved her out of the way, "Hey Naruto! Hey Sasuke!"

"Ugh, bitch piggie," Sakura muttered under her breath.

"HEY GUYS!" exclaimed a cheery blond. "I'm excited about tonight. Aren't you, Hina--?" The usually composed girl had a look of shock on her face. Naruto turned to Ino and whispered into her ear, "Is she okay, Ino?"

Scratching her head, "He he… Yeah she's just in SHOCK that the party is tonight."

Naruto laughed, "Hinata, your party will be a blast, don't worry about it."

"Ye—Yeah. I hope so," replied Hinata, trying to forget what Sakura had said earlier. Even still, Hinata could see some truth in what the pink haired girl's observations.

Gaara was extremely confused. Since they were kids Naruto had never gone to school with anybody but his parents, Iruka, or the driver. He just had to know, so he asked, "So why did you two come to school together? Is your driver sick, Naruto?"

Not thinking anything was off, Naruto replied, "No he's fine. It's just that Sasuke hurt himself yesterday, so I let Iruka look at his leg. It got a little late, so I told Sasuke he could stay over. And there wasn't any point in making my driver wake up when Sasuke was already going to the same place."

Gaara continued, "Sasuke hurt himself how?"

Sasuke looking a bit embarrassed replied, "I got a minor sprain from running yesterday…"

Naruto then chimed in, "Yeah he could barely walk!"

Hinata could feel her eye twitch, _"He slept over…"_

Sakura nudged Hinata and whispered, "Told you so."

Ino knew it was time to go, so this time she was the one that dragged her two friends off to class. "Hey guys, looks like first period is about to start. We should probably get going, come on ladies."

The four boys waved to the girls as they walked off, except for Hinata who was still looking at them while Sakura and Ino dragged her off.

"Look what you did, Sakura. Sometimes you can be such a bitch," Ino argued.

"Oh shut up, Ino. I was simply telling her my observations."

After a few feet of listening to Ino and Sakura bicker, Hinata was able to regain her composure, "Alright kids, don't worry mom is back. Calm down. Let's get going."

On their way to class, Naruto turned to Sasuke, "Hey don't you think they were acting kind of weird this morning?"

"Yeah, they seemed a bit confused or surprised. Maybe even both, but I don't know why."

"Hmmm… me neither," shrugged the blond.

On the other side of school, Lee and Gaara were walking to their first period. Still trying to understand what happened, Lee turned to Gaara, "That was rather… out of nowhere huh, Gaara?"

Gaara nodded, "Yes I agree. I mean when was the last time you and I slept over at Naruto's?"

"Probably back when we were like 11 or 12."

With a thoughtful expression, Gaara replied, "Hmm.. I overheard your pink haired loud mouth say that she thought maybe Sasuke and Naruto were gay or something."

"Gay? Really? Well I mean I wouldn't really be surprised. Naruto is probably one of the most sought after guys in our school and has yet to have a girlfriend. I mean if I had that many girls going aft---- WHAT DO YOU MEAN MY PINK HAIRED LOUD MOUTH!?"

"Hm, thought so," chuckled Gaara.

"I'll take that as an apology," glared Lee. "Anyway, back to Naruto and Sasuke. They have been spending a lot of time together and I can see a change in both of them, but maybe it's just a really good friendship?"

"But look at Sasuke, the only one he really opens up to is Naruto," answered Gaara. "Well, whatever, even if they were both gay, I wouldn't care. Would you?"

"Like I said, I wouldn't be surprised. If either of them were gay, I wouldn't care either."

Just then Lee felt an arm hold his waist, "What if I told you I was gay," whispered Gaara into Lee's ear.

"Uh… uh… well I'd be happy for you. But me, I prefer the loud mouth pink haired variety," replied an anxious Lee.

Gaara let go of Lee and laughed out loud. "Hahaha, I was just kidding idiot."

"You bastard, I thought you were hitting on me."

"Please… if I were gay, I would NOT go for you," Gaara smirked.

"Thank god!" exclaimed Lee. With that they both laughed off the rest of the conversation on their way to first period.

It was finally the end of the day and those invited to Hinata's party were all going home to get ready. Naruto was pulling on Sasuke's arm telling him to walk faster so they could go and get ready to go. The dark haired boy was purposely walking slow because it amused him to see Naruto so excited to go somewhere.

"Come onnnnnnnnnnnnnnn, Sasuke, I can see your car from here," whined Naruto.

"Alright, alright, it's not going to take that long, don't worry," reassured Sasuke looking at the blond who was insistently pulling his arm while focusing on the car.

Once they got to the car Naruto quickly placed his seat belt on and put his hands in his lap. He looked like a little boy who was making his dad take him to the toy store.

As Sasuke sat in the driver's seat, Naruto finally relaxed knowing it was only a matter of time before they would get to go to the Hyuuga house.

Sasuke dropped Naruto off and told him that he'd pick him up in about an hour and a half to go to Hinata's house. The blond perked up and told Sasuke not to take too long because he didn't want to be late. Sasuke smirked and drove off to get ready at his house.

AN HOUR AND A HALF LATER….

_"Where is he?"_ thought Sasuke as he sat in his car waiting for Naruto to come out. _"It's kind of funny how he's the one that's making us late now,"_ chuckled Sasuke.

After what seemed like an eternity in the car, he heard Naruto's voice. "I'll see you later tonight Iruka!" And with that the blond closed the door to the house and ran to Sasuke's car.

"Sorry, Sasuke, I had a hard time figuring out what to wear," pleaded Naruto who was wearing a low red v-neck tee shirt and dark washed jeans.

"I'll let it slide this time Uzumaki. Haha. By the way, you do look nice," smiled Sasuke as he started the car and began driving.

Naruto turned to glance at Sasuke who was wearing a black button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and khakis. "I've never seen you so dressed up," gawked Naruto. "And may I ask who you're trying to impress?" teased Naruto.

Sasuke could feel his cheeks get warm. "I didn't care to impress anyone, I just wanted to look nice."

"I'm just teasing you, Sasuke. But you do look… nice," said Naruto who was now twiddling his thumbs.

In truth, Naruto thought Sasuke looked better than nice. He looked so refined and so handsome after dressing up, that it made him jealous that he didn't wear something similar. Naruto looked at his shirt and felt a bit under dressed and gave out a sigh.

"Are you okay there?" questioned Sasuke with a raised eyebrow.

"Heh.. yeah I just feel a bit under dressed now."

"Don't worry, you look NICE. Okay, Naruto?," Sasuke reassured the blond.

"You're just saying that," came the blond's muffled voice.

"No, I mean it. Now stop questioning what I say," Sasuke said semi-sternly and semi-jokingly.

It was the blond's turn to feel a rush of heat in his cheeks. He had never felt anything like it before. Was it a good thing? He glanced over at Sasuke who was looking at the road and felt something in chest light up. This feeling was entirely new to Naruto. And even though he's told a few girls that they were pretty, there was never anything inside him that stirred like this. Maybe this feeling was because of the strong friendship him and Sasuke had? But then again, he'd been friends longer with Gaara and Lee and never felt this before. He could only describe it through the tightening around his chest, the rush in his cheeks, the warmth around his smile, or the nervousness inside whenever Sasuke was close. Whatever the feeling was, it started the day he saw Sasuke in Tsunade's office. He remembered being mere inches away from Sasuke's face the first day they met, and how he felt a lightness in his lower torso. He also remembered the sight of Sasuke's body gleaming with sweat, with droplets making their way to his waistband. The blond blushed at the thought. He mentally noted to talk to Iruka about it later on because it was hard for him to identify these feelings on his own.

Sasuke felt himself gulp as he noticed Naruto had been staring at him for awhile. He wanted to say something but it looked like Naruto was thinking about something serious. Every time the blond looked his way, Sasuke always felt nervous. He felt sweat form around his forehead as he was thinking, _"Is there something on my face? Do I look funny_?" There was something about Naruto that always made Sasuke feel weak and self conscious. And with that Sasuke always felt like he had to do things to impress the blond. He wanted to make Naruto smile and laugh. He remembered the first time Tsunade showed him a picture of the blond before they met in person. He felt a sense of inadequacy as he asked to be excused and went to the bathroom to fix his uniform and his hair. What was it that made Sasuke do this around Naruto? Was he that competitive with the blond? Or was it something else, he wondered.

"WE'RE FINALLY HERE!" exclaimed the blond pointing to the large mansion, overlooking the beach.

Sasuke blinked, "Are all of you rich?" He proceeded to find a parking spot among all the other cars situated along the driveway.

"Come on, Sasuke. Everybody knows that the Hyuuga's are one of the richest family on the coast. Gaara's family comes in a close second," smirked the blond as Sasuke finally found a parking spot.

Sasuke sighed, "Like I said."

All Naruto could do was give Sasuke a smile and chuckle. "Let's go, I bet they're inside waiting for us already!"

"Alright, alright. Hold o---," Sasuke was interrupted as Naruto seized his arm and dragged him yet again to the front of the Hyuuga manor. "You know you're probably rip my arm out of its socket soon if you keep doing that."

"If I do, Iruka can put it back for you," mused the blond.

Sasuke laughed inwardly at the blond's remark.

Naruto rang the doorbell, basically squirming to get in.

They were greeted by familiar ice colored eyes as Hinata welcomed them in, "Hey guys, welcome to my house. Everybody's in the backyard already," she smiled. "Come on in."

As Hinata lead them through the large mansion, she glanced back to see how happy the blond was around Sasuke. The expression of happiness on Naruto's face as he smiled and laughed made Hinata happy. She came to terms that as long as Naruto was happy she would be happy even though she was jealous that she only saw Naruto like that around the dark haired newcomer.

They came to a tall glass panel door that opened up to the backyard. The sight was enough to leave Naruto speechless as he looked at the white paper lanterns suspended in the trees that surrounded the large backyard. There were also two large canopies where most of the guests were. Hinata had also set up tables where there were lavish amounts of food. Beside the tables was a large koi pond with a bridge over it. And beside the canopies was a walkway that lead to the beach below.

"Wow… Hinata… this is wonderful. It's absolutely beautiful!" chimed Naruto at the sight.

"You did great," congratulated Sasuke, "I'm thoroughly impressed."

"Glad you guys like it!" said Hinata with a smile.

"HEY GUYS OVER HERE!!!" yelled Lee at Sasuke and Naruto.

"You guys go on ahead, I have to make rounds, if you know what I mean."

With a nod the two boys joined Lee, Gaara, Sakura, and Ino under one of the canopies.

Hinata was about to go back into the house to greet other guests when she heard, "Hey, cousin, come here."

Hinata turned and found her cousin Neji behind her. "Is there anything the matter, Neji?"

The boy looked just like Hinata. He had delicate features, ice blue eyes, and long dark hair that was tied at the end. "I was actually just wondering who your friend is?"

"Oh god," exclaimed Hinata, "didn't you just get out of a relationship with your boyfriend. I doubt now is the appropriate time to go hunting again."

"Aw come on, Hinata, I just want to know his name," he pleaded.

"Fine, but I am only giving you his name," said a defeated Hinata.

"The blond one," he pointed.

"Th—That's Naruto," she sighed.

"Why so glum, Hinata?" asked Neji.

"Nothing, it's just that I've had a crush on him for years. And then now I think he might be ga—," she stopped as she realized she had already said too much.

"So I was right…," trailed Neji with a smile.

"Please just leave him alone and don't embarrass me, okay, Neji," retorted Hinata sternly.

"Of course," he smirked.

"Ugh, I don't have time for this I need to greet the other people arriving. Neji, if I hear you bugged him I will come back here and put you in a cage with Sakura."

He gulped remembering the rather aggressive pink haired girl that made him want to crawl into the fetal position each time she spoke to him.

"Hmph. Thought so."

As Hinata walked away, Neji eyed the blond who was under the white canopy laughing and smiling with his friends. _"He's absolutely gorgeous,"_ thought Neji with a sly smile. "_He's always around that dark haired guy though. I wonder if that's his boyfriend… Anyway, it doesn't matter." _He said smugly.

Naruto was chatting it up with his friends until he felt someone poke him on the shoulder. He turned around thinking it might have been Hinata returning from her rounds, but to his surprise he was greeted by a male version of Hinata. His eyes were intense but lacked depth, his skin was almost as pale as his eyes, and his hair was long and elegant. Naruto was left speechless as he looked at the stranger in front of him.

"Hi, do I know you," asked Naruto politely.

"Not yet, but I plan to change that," said a rather determined Neji. "My name's Neji Hyuuga. I'm Hinata's cousin."

"Oh… nice to meet you Neji, I'm N--."

"Naruto," Neji finished with a smirk.

Naruto was getting nervous at how upfront this Neji guy was, though he couldn't deny that the boy in front of him was attractive. _"Is he hitting on me?"_ he thought.

Standing directly across from Neji was Sasuke who was glaring at the long haired Hyuuga. He felt an anger rise in his chest and move throughout the rest of his body as he saw Neji touch Naruto's shoulder and hair. Looking at Naruto's face, he could tell the blond was uncomfortable. His fist yearned to make contact with Neji's face. All of a sudden he let go of his tight fist as he realized that he might be jealous of Neji. He wracked his brain wondering why the hell he would be jealous of Neji. He thought about it and he knew for a fact it wasn't a jealousy out of admiration, but a jealously that stemmed from the boy shamelessly hitting on Naruto. What the hell was this feeling? He couldn't take it anymore.

"Excuse me, everybody." Sasuke said as he bowed his way out the group.

Neji just stared at the boy who seemed so defeated and sneered.

"Where are you going, Sasuke?" asked a concerned Naruto.

"Nowhere in particular, don't worry about me," replied the dark haired boy, trying to reassure Naruto that he was okay.

Naruto looked at Sasuke walk off with his hands in his pockets, _"I wonder what's wrong with him?"_

Gaara and Lee looked at each again and nodded. They knew what that was… it was a jealously that stemmed back to childhood where no one was allowed to touch your stuff.

TBC

What!? You didn't think I was just gonna let the two of them get together that easily did you? ;D

Leave reviews, I love hearing from all of you!!


	8. Andante IV

**Hey guys, here's part IV. Again, I am still in the midst of finals so please excuse the minor grammatical and spelling errors. Sometimes my mind is faster than my typing ;; **

Hope you enjoy!

ADANTE IV.

By: Ian-Michael

Bewildered at his actions, Sasuke began to walk through the expansive backyard alone. He kept his gaze on the green grass, that seemed more dull than usual. He couldn't believe he just left the group the way he did, it wasn't like him. The way Neji's interactions with Naruto angered him was so overwhelmingly new to the dark haired boy that he didn't know how to handle it. A part of him wanted to hit Neji in the face for even getting so close to the blond, the other part wanted to run away. He felt as if, just like in the past, a stranger would take someone he cared for away. The usually calm figure shuddered remembering his mother's lover grab her and hold her as they walked out on them. And even though Naruto didn't do anything to signal that he was pleased with Neji's presence, Sasuke couldn't help the fiery anger that seeped out of his knuckles.

The only thing Sasuke found solace in was the blond's tense face as Neji got closer. Continuing on his walk, he found himself at the stairway that led down to the beach. He noticed no one was down there and decided it would be best for him to be alone for a bit.

Walking down, he looked at the vast white sand beach that was kissed by the light blue waves of the ocean. The sun was just now setting, casting its last hopeful rays of warm tones through the ocean. It looked like the horizon was on fire while the water close to the beach was cool.

Once he reached the bottom of the pathway, he took off his shoes and socks, and rolled up his khakis to walk across the beach towards the water. He could feel every grain of sand as they transferred the warmth they absorbed from the sun through out the day to the boy's cool feet. He sighed as his muscles began to relax.

_"What are you doing to me, Naruto? I feel like when I'm around you I have no control over what I'm doing, thinking, or feeling,"_ Sasuke thought.

Reaching a spot he found comfortable, he sat down on the sand and watched the setting sun.

Back up at the Hyuuga house, Neji continued trying to talk to Naruto. He found the blond so irresistible and innocent. Despite his cousin's warnings, he continued to push himself onto the unsuspecting boy.

"So Naruto, what do you do for **fun**?" asked Neji with a smirk.

"Oh, I like swimming," smiled Naruto innocently, while gazing out to find Sasuke in the crowd.

Neji was getting irritated that Naruto couldn't even make eye contact with him. He didn't even know if Naruto understood the full meaning of what exactly Neji was trying to imply.

Ino, Sakura, Lee, and Gaara were getting annoyed with Neji's brazenness. They saw how satisfied he was when Sasuke left. Also, they couldn't believe that Naruto was so completely oblivious about what just happened. So while Neji continued his wooing, The four of them devised a plan to separate Neji from Naruto.

"Hey, Naruto, let me talk to you for a bit," said Ino as she grabbed his arm and pulled him over away from the group, all while keeping her stare on Neji. The way she saw Neji was the same way she saw Sakura, who audaciously flirted during the most unseemly of times.

Neji grimaced but tried to play along by saying, "Don't take too long."

Ino, who was irritated at Neji, didn't even let Naruto answer. Instead, she turned around with a mocking grin, "We'll be RIGHT back." And with that Ino lead Naruto a few feet away from the crowd.

"Ino, is everything alright?" inquired Naruto with his mouth wide open at how Ino was acting.

"Well yeah everything is fine with me, Naruto. I think the bigger question is are YOU okay?"

"What do you mean, Ino?"

"Oh don't give me that! I'm not blind, Naruto. Everyone can see there is something between you and Sasuke."

"WH—WHAT!? There is nothing between Sasuke and me!" exclaimed the blond defensively.

"Oh, come off it, everyone can see the changes occurring in both you and him. You mean to tell me whenever you're around him you don't feel something different? Something that you feel when you're only around him." retorted Ino with a raised eyebrow.

"Well—I don't know how to explain it but there is nothing between Sasuke and me!" He kept telling himself that, he didn't know what else it could be because he hadn't gone through any of these feelings before.

"So you mean to tell me that you feel the same way around him as you do with Gaara and Lee?"

"Well… no, it's different… slightly. Sometimes I get anxious around Sasuke, especially when he gets really close… and sometimes when he and I are alone, I feel a warmth in my chest. But I don't even know what the hell that means!" He was really started to get frustrated with his feelings. He didn't know how to sort them out or how to properly distinguish what each feeling meant.

Ino looking surprised at first, gave a smirk and placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Her eyes were then met by Naruto's sapphire eyes that held a rather confused and helpless look in its depths.

"Oh Naruto… don't you see it? Everybody else does."

"See what, Ino?"

"Do you know why Sasuke left?"

"He probably wanted to be by himself for awhile. That's very much like him." He assured himself.

"He… no, Naruto."

With a mixed look of confusion and curiousity he looked at Ino. "Well why did he leave, Ino?"

"It's because Neji was hitting on you… and I'm pretty sure he was getting jealous."

Naruto's jaw dropped to the floor, "SO HE WAS HITTING ON ME!"

"Oh, Naruto, sometimes I don't think you see what's happening right in front of your eyes."

A quiet fell upon the two. Naruto's eyes went from Ino to the grass below his feet. After taking all Ino had to say in, he asked her, "Ino, what is this then… what is this feeling?"

"You've never had these feelings before huh?"

"No…"

"I think, Naruto, that you may be falling in love…"

"Love huh?" Naruto asked. "I don't think I've ever said that word since my parents died…"

Sensing the fear in Naruto's voice, Ino gave him a hug. "You know, Naruto, I'm not trying to force anything on you… I'm just trying to tell you what all of us observe happening."

"I know, Ino. I know."

"Just know one thing, Naruto. All of us are here for you no matter what, we just want to see you happy. And we see you happiest with Sasuke."

"But, Ino, Sasuke is a really good friend, plus he's a GUY. I couldn't possibly fall in love with him… right?"

"Naruto, I know you don't believe that so please stop trying to convince yourself otherwise. Loving someone isn't defined by boundaries. You can't control who you fall in love with."

All of a sudden, Naruto heard a familiar voice beside them, "She's right, Naruto."

As the blond looked up to see who it was, he saw dark red hair and piercing aqua eyes. "Ga—Gaara?"

"Is all this she's telling me true? Am I the only one that doesn't see it?"

Gaara nodded.

"Now shouldn't you be looking for Sasuke, Naruto?" asked another familiar voice.

"Lee!"

The black haired boy nodded as well and reassured Naruto, "We all kind of figured it out on our own. Now go look for him… he's been gone for almost 40 minutes."

Naruto quickly looked at his watch, he didn't even realize that much time had passed. He worried what Sasuke was thinking about if he was all alone.

"Thanks, guys," and with that Naruto went to look for Sasuke.

After Naruto departed, a heaving Sakura ran her way to the three. "Where is Naruto!?" she screamed.

Ino looked at her with a pleased smile, "He's looking for Sasuke."

"Oh thank god. I didn't know how much longer I could distract Neji from coming over here," she said with a sigh.

The blond girl then replied, "You finally used your talents for the good of someone else."

"Ugh. I'm too tired to argue. That Neji kept talking and talking, asking about Naruto. It was like I had to think on my toes to keep him in a conversation," said the fatigued Sakura.

"Speaking of Neji. Where is he Sakura?" asked Gaara.

"Oh, he said he was going to check on Hinata because she hadn't returned from inside the house yet," huffed Sakura.

"Let's hope so… I don't want him interfering while Naruto and Sasuke talk," replied a stern Gaara.

_"I wonder where he is,"_ thought Naruto as he walked through the large backyard trying to spot the dark haired boy.

Going up to some of his other classmates, he asked them if they saw Sasuke anywhere. All of the replies were usually a no. The blond was getting exponentially worried because he didn't know what was going through Sasuke's mind at the time.

_"God, I'm stupid,"_ he thought. _"Why the hell could everybody else see it and not me?"_

He finally came up to a girl standing by the koi pond and asked her if she saw a dark haired boy with his hair parted in the middle.

"Actually yes, I did. He went down to the beach not too long ago," she replied with a curious look.

"OH, THANK YOU!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran to the path that led to the beach. On his way, he felt relieved now knowing where Sasuke had went off to.

Sasuke was still on the beach looking at the setting sun. The sight maybe had a few more minutes before it would disappear under the ocean's horizon. He felt so alone, but he didn't want to ruin Naruto's time at Hinata's party. He pulled his legs to his chest and sighed.

The blond reached the bottom of the path and saw Sasuke close to the water, sitting with his arms around his legs. _"Thank god,"_ Naruto thought. His gaze then moved up from the figure and gazed at a familiar scene.

He took his shoes off and rolled up his jeans the same way Sasuke did earlier.

As he walked closer to the dark haired boy, that feeling came to him again. A part of him was getting nervous being alone with Sasuke while the other part of him wanted to run to him and hug him.

"Sa..Sasuke…"

Sasuke's body became rigid as he heard Naruto's voice. _"Why is he down here?"_ he thought. "Oh hey Naruto," he said with a forced smile, "why aren't you up there with everybody else?"

Naruto looked down at Sasuke, "I wouldn't be able to enjoy myself knowing you're all alone down here," he reassured.

Sasuke turned his eyes from Naruto and back to the horizon. He felt guilty and ashamed that his actions ruined Naruto's time. "I'm sorry, Naruto, I didn't mean to kill the party…"

"Oh you didn't kill it," said the cheery blond as he plopped down beside Sasuke. "I think the thing that killed the party was that you left me up there with that Neji guy."

Sasuke could feel his cheeks warm up again. He so wanted to hear that Naruto enjoyed his company more than Neji's. He tried to hide his reddening face from Naruto who was looking at him.

"Sasuke, I wanted to ask you something…" said Naruto as he gazed into the horizon with Sasuke.

"Yeah, what is it, Naruto?"

"Back there, why did you leave?"

Sasuke's eyes widened considerably at the question. He didn't know how to respond to the question, a mounting feeling of panic rose in his stomach.

He was finally able to choke out, "Wh-what do you mean?"

Naruto smiled. "I mean were you getting annoyed with everyone and wanted to get away for a bit? Or were you… were you getting jealous of Neji?"

Sasuke thought about it for awhile. He just sat there dumbfounded because whenever he was around Naruto he felt so bare. And now his emotions were becoming even more evident. He felt a sense of fear envelop him as he tightened his grip around his legs. A fear that was the result of his believing Naruto would leave him just like his mother did.

Seeing Sasuke react this way made Naruto's heart sink. "I'm sorry… Sasuke."

The dark haired boy looked surprised, _"Why is he apologizing?"_

"I've been denying this for so long. I guess you could say I always knew it was there, but I always convinced myself otherwise." Naruto looked into Sasuke's eyes. "Since my parents died, it's been impossible for me to let just anyone come into my life. I guess I was scared of losing them just like I lost my parents. Honestly, I just didn't believe I could survive that kind of pain again."

"Naru..to…"

Naruto gave Sasuke a teary smile. "But for some reason when you came around… it was like you were able to bring down all my walls so quickly. In a matter of days, I felt like I could tell you about my life. Then I started getting these weird feelings around you that confused me for awhile. Every time we touched, I could feel a warmth wherever we made contact, and it wasn't even just for that moment… it seemed to follow me around all day. Whenever you gave me a smile, my chest felt flimsy. Every time you were around… I felt so safe. I kept trying to tell myself that these were normal feelings between friends even though I never felt them with Gaara or Lee. But now… now I think I may be falling… for you, Sasuke. And I can't stop it…"

With his final words Naruto's face sunk into his lap. He felt scared that Sasuke might reject his confession.

Sasuke felt his chest throb. Each bass filled throb filled his body with a feeling of comfort. He took his arms from his legs and placed them around the blond. As he warmed the blond, he placed his head on Naruto's upper back.

"The reason… the reason I left earlier was because I was jealous. I've been out here just trying to figure out why. I was jealous of Neji, Naruto. He touched you in a way I longed to touch you… not as a friend, but as someone who was interested in you THAT way. I've always thought you beautiful, Naruto. Your golden hair, your eyes, your touch… everything seemed so perfect to me. Out of everyone I've met in life, you are the only one that has accepting me with the mask and without it." Sasuke smiled as he felt the blond boy starting to relax in his arms. "Naruto, I know it was wrong of me to hide it from you… but I am falling for you." As soon as he uttered those words, Sasuke could hear Naruto's hear beat faster.

Without saying a word, Naruto turned around to face Sasuke and hugged him. He felt an overflow of happiness coming from inside as he heard Sasuke say it back.

Sasuke looked down at the blond who was resting his head on Sasuke's chest. Naruto's hug was an acceptance of Sasuke's feelings. A warmth engulfed his heart as they sat there entangled in each other's arms. Sasuke had only felt this once before… it was something that was created during a moment of complete happiness… it was a feeling similar to the one he had when his family was together. And with that, he kissed Naruto gently on the forehead.

Naruto looked up with rosy cheeks and brilliant eyes. As the sun was about to end it's reign over the sky, Sasuke once again marveled at how the blond looked under the warm tones of the sun. "I know I've told you this before, Naruto. But, the sunlight suits you."

The blond could feel his body weaken, so he steadied himself by holding onto Sasuke's shoulder. _"Everything feels so… right,"_ he thought with a smile. Keeping his eyes locked on Sasuke's, Naruto moved his right hand under Sasuke's warm chin and leaned toward the dark haired boy. As the distance between them diminished, the boys closed their eyes and let whatever forces were working to take its course. And as they kissed for the first time, a gentle tepid fire moved along their lips and into their chest and suddenly they felt life rush through them.

As they deepened their kiss, they both took note of the way the other's lips felt against theirs--the texture, the taste, and the longing that had been waiting there. Sasuke brought his hand behind Naruto's and held him gently there while Naruto pulled Sasuke in closer.

Unknown to the two, a figure was watching from the middle of the path that lead to the beach. Angry ice blue eyes frowned at the sight and went back up to the Hyuuga household.

TBC

**Please review. Thanks!**


	9. Andante V

WARNING: YAOI FIC. DUN DUN DUN. HAHA. HOPE YOU LIKE! SORRY THAT IT TOOK AWHILE TO PUT THIS ONE OUT, BUT I AM GLAD TO SAY THAT FINALS ARE OVER!

DISCLAIMER: YEAH I STILL DON'T OWN NARUTO.

ANDANTE V.

By: Ian-Michael

With: much appreciation to sharingan.swirl for being my awesome beta.

The sun had finally set on the two boys kissing on the beach. As they slowly parted from the kiss, Naruto looked at the dark haired boy in front of him and felt an overwhelming exuberance that had been missing from his life for quite some time now.

"Sasuke," he breathed as he mentally etched this memory into his heart, "tell me this is real. PLEASE tell me this is real."

"Why wouldn't it be real?" Sasuke questioned giving Naruto that ever so assuring smile. Wanting to remind the blond exactly what had happened, Sasuke leaned towards the blond one more time and kissed his lips gently; a soft elegant kiss with only their lips making contact. The blond felt the warmth again and this time he knew it was real. "Believe me now?" Sasuke asked as he pulled away slowly.

With his eyes still halfway open, Naruto simply nodded his head in reply.

"How about we get back up to the party? I bet they're wondering where we are," said Sasuke, still looking at the blond boy who now openly held and accepted his affections.

"Yeah. We have been away for quite some time haven't we?" giggled the blond.

"Come on," Sasuke said as he stood up and held his hand out to the blond. Those blue eyes were finally looking at him in a way that Sasuke had yearned for ever since he saw the blond smile for the first time.

Naruto nodded his head and grabbed Sasuke's hand. He could feel the dark haired boy's strength as he was being pulled up, inch by inch closer to the other's body. There was a force behind it, yet there was a gentleness that was similar to how a mother held her child.

As Naruto got to his feet, he was surprised that Sasuke was still holding his hand. "Shall we?" Sasuke motioned as he looked up to the lights of the Hyuuga house.

Naruto was still looking at the hand holding his, and finally looked up into Sasuke's eyes as he squeezed his hand. "Hehe, yeah," smirked the blond. His heart was being reminded of the happiness it had shielded away for the past few years since he had lost his parents. There was something so fulfilling about it that would make his life feel almost inadequate for the past few years. He was starting to see that THIS feeling that he had at THIS moment in time was what made life important. The once cautious blond felt himself let go of all his fears and allowed himself to fall in love with the boy holding his hand.

As they made their way up the pathway, Naruto couldn't tear his eyes away from Sasuke. He felt a blush form on his face. "You know Sasuke, you're my first kiss."

Shocked at the blond's words, Sasuke asked with a raised brow, "What? Are you serious?"

Naruto felt his back stiffen defensively. "What do you mean? Was I not your first kiss?!"

Sasuke laughed and squeezed Naruto's hand. "Actually, yes you are, Naruto. I was just shocked because I figured such a handsome boy would have had quite a few chances to kiss someone."

Naruto felt himself redden even more, "Oh, no. I was never really interested in anyone. That and I guess I never really paid attention." Remembering the laugh Sasuke let out earlier, Naruto added with a frown, "May I ask what that smug chuckle was about?"

"Well you see, that little hissy fit you just had was jealousy. That's kind of what I felt earlier with you and that Neji guy," Sasuke grinned.

"Yeah, well, it's not a fun feeling. Plus he doesn't compare to you," the blond reassured. "Although he is quite attractive."

Sasuke's eyes twitched at the blond's comment and joined his hands with the blond's to give a harder squeeze.

"Ow! Ow! I was just kidding, Sasuke!" exclaimed the blond. "Geez!"

"I hope so," replied a grumpy Sasuke with his eyes turned down.

"It's true," the blond said as he kissed Sasuke on the cheek.

Gaara and Lee were looking down the path, trying to see where there two friends had gone off to.

"Where the hell are they?" posed an impatient Gaara. "It feels like years since they've been down there."

"Yeah tell me about it. This is getting soooooooooooo boring," yawned Lee.

"What are you guys doing?" asked a calm questioning voice behind them.

Gaara and Lee turned around almost instantly to see no other than the missing Hinata Hyuuga before them.

"Oh hey, Hinata, where have you been?" asked Lee.

"Well I've been at the door greeting all the guests coming in and I just now got finished," replied Hinata, still wondering why the two were looking down at the beach. "So will either of you answer my question?"

"Oh, hehe. Well, we're waiting for Naruto and Sasuke to return. They've been down there for awhile already," grinned Lee, keeping an eye on Hinata, whom he expected to faint.

Unexpectedly, Hinata actually gave them a smile, "Oh, I'm glad. I could see that Naruto was happy with Sasuke. It's about time," giggled Hinata, in an almost defeated matter.

Gaara's eyes widened as he saw Naruto and Sasuke walking up holding holds, "Speak of the devil."

As Lee and Hinata turned around, they saw the two looking at each other laughing, holding each other's hands.

The two boys let out a sigh of relief to see that the two had finally straightened things out, while Hinata was mentally taking a picture of her face over Sasuke's. _"So not fair," _she thought half smiling, half wincing.

Naruto turned to look at the group and gave them all a smile. He was especially excited to see Hinata, who had been missing the majority of the night. "Hinata!! Nice of you to FINALLY join us!"

The beautiful blue haired girl gave him a delicate smile. _"At least he's excited to see me. That's good enough for me,"_ she thought. _"As long as he's happy, I will try to be happy as well."_

"Yeah, sorry, I got caught up with everyone still arriving, but I don't think anyone else is coming," she answered.

Neither of the boys realized they were still holding hands while walking into the setting. In fact, it was only when Gaara coughed and looked at their hands that they noticed. Naruto knew that one of the things that bugged Gaara the most was public displays of affection. It's not that he hated it or anything; Gaara just thought it was inappropriate in certain settings.

"Oh, sorry about that! Sasuke wouldn't let go of my arm," Naruto giggled at the thought of Sasuke's upcoming reaction.

"Actually, I had to keep holding his hand, otherwise that Neji character would come up to him again," replied a collected Sasuke.

"_Neji,"_ Hinata could feel her blood boil. She was about to explode because her cousin went against her wishes at HER party. "Naruto," she looked at the blond, "did Neji go up to you?"

Confused at the anger he heard in Hinata's voice, Naruto nodded in reply.

"That little…" Hinata started, "I'm going to… ugh! Sakura! Ino! Come on, we've got something to take care of."

With eyes wide in astonishment, Sakura and Ino followed Hinata in search for her cousin Neji.

"_Uh oh,"_ thought Naruto. With his eyes trailing after Hinata, he looked at Sasuke and said, "I hope I didn't get Neji in trouble."

Sasuke smirked, "Eh, what can you do?"

The night went on spectacularly, especially for Sasuke who delighted in seeing Neji run away from an extremely pissed off Hinata, who had her posse with her. Finally cornering him, Hinata forced Neji to apologize to Naruto for being so inappropriate earlier.

Sasuke looked back on what happened that night. First, he was able to finally sort out his feelings for the blond, who was now beside him. Second, he found out that his feelings were reciprocated. Third, the bastard who tried to take his blond ended the night looking like a chicken running around with its head chopped off. It was truly a good night, a good night indeed. Sasuke felt like he now had something worth protecting in life. He wasn't going to let happiness escape him again. He looked at the blond who was chatting with Lee and in that one instance saw exactly why he fell for the boy. Naruto was so lively, beautiful, and compassionate towards others. There was something about him that always made people feel like they could trust him. Sasuke had to admit, he felt lucky to have the blond boy fall for him.

It was now nearing the end of the night and everybody started to make their way towards their cars outside. Hinata, always the gracious host, was standing by the door making sure she said her farewells to all her guests.

"Naruto, Sasuke. Thank you for coming tonight. I hope you enjoyed yourselves, despite my cousin's actions. For that, I apologize."

"Hinata, it was a great party. Thank you for having us," said Sasuke, bowing to the blue haired girl.

"YEAH! It was a lot of fun! And don't worry about apologizing for your cousin," said the cheerful blond as he gave Hinata a tight hug.

She couldn't help blushing every time Naruto gave her a hug. Regardless that he was now with Sasuke, the way the blond's body felt against hers always made the blood rush to her skin.

As the two boys left, Hinata heard a voice coming from the stairs beside her. "I see it now."

"Who's there?" asked Hinata. Turning her head, she saw her cousin sitting there looking at her.

"You like him, don't you? No wonder you didn't want me to talk to him," he smirked as he got up and walked down towards his cousin. "I guess I'll be leaving, too, then."

"Yes, I believe you should." She gritted at the next part, "Thank you for coming."

"And thanks for having me," he scowled as he walked past Hinata.

"And Neji."

The boy stopped in his tracks yet refused to look at his cousin. "Yes."

"Leave Naruto and Sasuke alone."

"Hmph." And with that the lavender eyed boy whipped his head around and walked out of Hinata's house.

Once Sasuke and Naruto made in back into the car, Naruto turned to Sasuke and muttered, "Do you want to stay the night, Sasuke?"

Sasuke, who didn't quite hear his blond's question, looked at him, "What did you say, Naruto?"

The blond gave out a sigh and with more confidence asked, "I said, do you want to stay the night, Sasuke?"

Sasuke blinked and looked at the blond who was now looking down and playing with the bottom hem of his shirt.

"Yes, I would love to," smiled Sasuke as he reached out to hold Naruto hand while they drove back to the Uzumaki household.

It was already two in the morning as they reached Naruto's house. They entered the house cautiously, not wanting to wake Iruka up. After Naruto closed the door, he locked it carefully and led Sasuke back to his room.

"I feel like a ninja," laughed Naruto as he locked his bedroom door.

Sasuke laughed recalling how they were tip-toeing through the house just a few minutes prior. The raven haired boy made his way to Naruto's bed and sat down. He was watching his blond undress to a pair of black boxer briefs, that which hugged his silhouette. The blue eyed boy looked in his dresser trying to find something to sleep in. Sasuke thought back to the time where he watched Naruto in the shower room, and blushed. He decided he would tell Naruto about that later on.

"Aha!" exclaimed the blond as he pulled out some black basketball shorts and put them on.

"Ahem," coughed Sasuke. "Hey, what about me?"

Naruto scratched his head and laughed. "Oh yeah! Hehe. Here you go," said the blond as he threw Sasuke a pair of dark red shorts.

"How about a t-shirt?" asked Sasuke.

"What? Are you self conscious or something?" Naruto giggled.

"No, it's just that I get cold at night," groaned the dark eyed boy.

Naruto loved the way Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed when he was grumpy. Reaching back into the dresser he pulled a white v-neck shirt and threw it at Sasuke. "There you go."

"Thanks. Are you not going to wear a shirt?" Sasuke asked as he fidgeted.

"I get warm at night, so I usually opt to sleep in just shorts," reassured the blond.

"Oh, okay," replied Sasuke as he began to undress and change into the clothes the blond gave him. Before he was able to change into his shirt, he felt an ardent body embracing him from behind. As he looked down, he saw Naruto's fingers intertwine and hold him tightly.

"I've wanted to hold you like this for some time now, Sasuke," whispered the blond, his lips merely an inch away from Sasuke's ear. The blond could feel Sasuke's body tighten in anticipation.

Sasuke placed his hands over Naruto's, and replied, "And I've wanted to feel your skin on mine."

Naruto started kissing Sasuke's warm neck, tasting a hint of vanilla with every inch his mouth explored. He could feel Sasuke's once tight body relax under his touch as he licked a small cool trail along the dark eyed boy's neck down to his collar bone. Blowing softly on it, he could hear the baritone vibrations coming from Sasuke's throat. Once Sasuke's skin cooled, Naruto bit lightly at the skin, infusing it with heat once again. He could feel the veins pump faster and faster in Sasuke's neck, in coordination with his heart, as the blond ran his tongue over the alabaster skin.

With his eyes closed, Sasuke breathed, "What are you doing to me, Naruto?"

Naruto drew back at the question, realizing that he had lost control. "I—I'm sorry, Sasuke."

Sasuke turned around and held the blond who was looking very apologetic, "It's not a bad thing, Naruto. Sometimes I can't control myself around you, either." The dark eyed boy brought Naruto's face up to his, "You didn't have to apologize. I liked it."

With that, Sasuke ended the statement with a passionate kiss.

Naruto closed his eyes and gave himself completely to Sasuke's kiss.


	10. Andante VI

BIG THANKS to my beta sharingan.swirl for being so patient with me. It is truly an honor:D

Sorry for the prolonged delay by the way, I just graduated today and have been through hell and back with my family. :D Hope you enjoy!

ANDANTE VI.

By: Ian-Michael

Sasuke ran his fingers through the silken blond strands of Naruto's hair as they kissed. His other hand was holding Naruto from behind, bringing the distance between them to a bare minimum. The only senses that seemed to have any significance at this point were touch and hearing which was realized when he felt Naruto press his bare torso against his. He could feel all his nerves shoot electricity from axon to axon as Naruto's nerves pressed into him. The low vibrations coming from Naruto's throat made his ears tingle, sending yet another wave of sensual currents coursing through his body. Feeling the weakening of his legs, Sasuke motioned them to Naruto's bed—not once breaking their kiss. After laying the blond down gently, Sasuke straddled the boy he had been longing for.

Completely lost in the feeling of fulfilled longing, Naruto whimpered into the dark haired boy's mouth, "Sasuke." He could feel every single excited cell in his body come alive with every fire infused touch. Wanting more contact, Naruto placed both of his hands on Sasuke's back and traced a feverish line down the dark haired boy's spine, grazing the band of Sasuke's pajamas teasingly.

Naruto's fingers danced so dangerously low on Sasuke's lower back that he couldn't help but buck under the scintillating pressure. The force was so abrupt that Sasuke broke their kiss.

"Naruto," he breathed, looking at the blond who was slowly opening his eyes with a wistful expression. Sasuke was so completely enthralled by the blond below him, yet he couldn't help but feel that they might be moving too fast. "You take away all my control…" he trailed.

From the expression on Sasuke's face, Naruto could tell that they might have been moving too hurriedly for Sasuke's comfort. And although the blond wouldn't mind losing the night tangled up in the other boy's body, he knew, somewhere in the back of his mind, that taking it slower would be more wise for the both of them. "You know Sasuke, I'm completely happy here with just kissing and holding each other. I did not expect anything more." He reached out to touch Sasuke's face.

Upon feeling Naruto's warm touch, Sasuke felt relieved and understood. "Me too," he said with a smile.

Feeling elated, Naruto smiled back. "Let's lay down."

Both boys moved up to the pillows and laid beside each other. They were on their sides looking at each other while their hands were entwined between them.

Staring into Sasuke's bottomless eyes, Naruto asked, "It's so unreal, isn't it?"

"Us?"

"Yeah."

Sasuke reminisced about his experiences with the blond up until the first time they met in Tsunade's office. "Nope, it's pretty real to me." Sasuke smirked at the blond looking straight at him. "What I find unreal is that you actually like me back."

Naruto moved closer to Sasuke, "Of course I like you! I liked you even before I knew I did."

Sasuke gave Naruto a smile before leaning in to kiss the blond goodnight.

The beautiful thing about falling in love is the process of noticing what makes that person different from others. As Sasuke closed his eyes to sleep, Naruto stayed awake to study his special other. Sasuke's back was facing the window that glowed a blue-gray as the moon shone through. He remembered how much he loved the way Sasuke looked under the moonlight which played so well with Sasuke's milky skin. The dark lines on the boy's body seemed to blur into the dim light, creating an aeriform glow. He watched Sasuke's defined chest rise and fall with each breath—it was the only thing that made Naruto sure that the person lying beside him was real. Naruto internalized every single one of Sasuke's characteristics and placed them close to his heart. Feeling the effects of the moon, Naruto began to slowly fall asleep.

The once dim room now radiated with the sun's first rays. A warm yellow glow filled Naruto's room, signaling the start of a new day.

Sasuke could feel his back warm up as the sunlight danced on his skin. He yawned and stretched out his arms before opening his eyes. The first thing he saw was the sleeping blond beside him. He couldn't help but smile as he gazed at the peaceful expression on Naruto's face. Leaning down, he kissed Naruto on the forehead gently, noticing how god-like the blond looked when the sun reflected off his skin.

He got up from the bed and went over to the adjoining bathroom to rinse his face with water.

Naruto shifted, noticing that the shield he had against the sunlight was now gone. He opened one eye to see the sun in his window and let out a yawn. Slowly he got up and looked around. 'Where's Sasuke,' he thought. 'Was it a dream?' Suddenly, he heard running water coming from his bathroom. "Sasuke?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"Just rinsing my face off with water."

A feeling of relief came over Naruto as he saw Sasuke walk out of the bathroom, in his pajama pants. 'It was real,' he thought with a smile.

Sasuke made his way back to the bed and leaned towards the blond to kiss him good morning. "You look cute when you sleep," he smiled.

"You too," Naruto replied, gleaming.

Without warning, a loud knocking came to Naruto's door. "Naruto!! It's morning!! Wake up and have breakfast with me!" Naruto could hear Iruka try to open the door and heard him gasp as he realized the door was locked. "Naruto! Why is the door locked?! Who's in there with you?!"

"Uh, good morning Iruka!" Naruto felt nervous because he had never heard Iruka's voice at that pitch.

"Who else is in there?! Identify yourself!"

Sasuke felt a ball form in his throat. "Uh, good morning Iruka."

"Oooooooooooh, it's you Sasuke! Good morning!" Iruka felt relieved that it was Sasuke. A part of him was glad that Naruto was beginning to let someone into his life in that manner again. "Would you join us for breakfast, Sasuke?"

The choking feeling in his throat disappeared as he heard Iruka's voice ease. "I would love to."

"Alright. Well, you two get dressed and stop whatever it is you're doing." And with that, Iruka made his way to the kitchen.

Naruto stammered, "I do apologize for that, Sasuke. He can be really nosy sometimes."

Sasuke just gave a light laugh. "It's fine, Naruto. It could have been worse, right?"

Naruto nodded in agreement as a mental picture flashed of Iruka busting down his door and charging after Sasuke with murderous intent. They both went to the dresser and put a shirt on before they made their way to the kitchen.

As they entered the kitchen, Naruto flinched as he saw Iruka sitting at the breakfast table with a huge grin on his face.

Naruto was beginning to get anxious—he didn't know what was behind that grin. "Are you okay, Iruka? What's up with your face?"

Iruka frowned at the comment and then answered, "There is nothing wrong with my face, Naruto. I'm just happy for you and Sasuke. So, I'm guessing you two are FINALLY together."

"WHAT!? What do you mean FINALLY!?" Naruto felt a blush rush to his cheeks. He couldn't believe how obvious he was, yet he was the last one that seemed to notice.

"Well you two have been spending a lot of time together."

Sasuke reached over to hold Naruto's hand with hopes of calming the blond down.

Looking at how the simple contact of Sasuke's hand eased the blond, Iruka smiled, "So, I'll take that as a yes. I'm happy for you two. Now, how about some breakfast?"

Both boys nodded and sat down to a table full of pancakes, bacon, eggs, and toast. During breakfast, Iruka asked about when the boys became a couple. Realizing that they had only been together for a day, Iruka understood why Naruto reacted the way he did.

"So, what are your plans for the day," asked Iruka, looking at Naruto.

"Hm. I didn't really think about it yet. I wanted to take Sasuke out somewhere. How about you?"

"Well, I'm actually thinking of going by the hospital to help out," sighed Iruka. "What a way to spend a Saturday, huh?"

"It's not too bad. At least you won't be bored," Naruto laughed.

"Naruto, why don't you take Sasuke to the beach?"

'Oh! Why didn't I think of that before?' Naruto thought. "That sounds like a great idea," Naruto exclaimed. He turned to Sasuke, "Would you like to go to the beach, Sasuke?"

Sasuke turned to face Naruto's blue eyes with a smile, "Yeah, sounds like fun."

Looking at the dynamic between the two boys made Iruka feel lonely all of a sudden, but a feeling of happiness dominated over the loneliness as he saw Naruto starting to love again. It had been years since he'd seen Naruto open up to anybody in that manner and now he felt relieved that Naruto had given someone a chance to move closer to his heart.

Naruto and Sasuke held hands while sitting in the back of the car. This was the first time Naruto had ever taken anyone to THIS beach—the beach that his parents use to take him as a child. To Naruto, it just wasn't any beach; it was a place where his most treasured memory resided. As he gazed out the window, he revisited a scene that was so precious to him.

_"Naruto, come here, look at this," said a blonde woman._

_  
As Naruto went over to his mom, he looked up at her face. "Yes, mom?"_

_  
"Look at the horizon, dear. Do you see that?"_

_With a giggle Naruto replied, "Mom, stop being weird. Of course I see it. That's the sun and that's the water."_

_As Mrs. Uzumaki picked up her son, "No, Naruto it's not just that. When I look at the setting sun and the ocean, I always feel like I see my life in front of me."_

_  
A little Naruto looked up at his mom a little confused. "You're life is the sun and ocean?"_

_With a giggle, Naruto's mom lovingly replied, "No, dear, it's not just the sun or the ocean, it's what they represent. The water represents the fluidity of life. It can be so calm and beautiful, but at the same time it can be restless and destructive. Just remember Naruto, life will make you happy at times and will try you, but always remember that the stronger the storm, the longer the following calm."_

_  
With a nod, Naruto hugged his mother and looked out at the ocean. Then it struck him. "Mom, how about the sun? What does the sun represent?"_

_"To me, the sun is the cause of all life. Without it, the ocean would be a dead thing, not full of any life. The sun is you and your father, my dear Naruto."_

_"Mom."_

_Mrs. Uzumaki looked down at her son who was looking up at her while holding her tight._

_"You and dad are my sun," And with that the young Naruto closed his eyes and rested his head on his mother._

This beach is where that memory occurred so long ago. Now, he was going to share this place with someone else very special to him. His hand clenched Sasuke's tighter, as if to make sure that he was still there.

Feeling the pressure on his hand, Sasuke looked at Naruto, who was still gazing out the window. 'I wonder what he's thinking about,' he thought as he moved closer to the blond and kissed his cheek.

Naruto turned and gave Sasuke a smile—a painful yet genuine smile. "We're almost there."

"Here you are," said the driver as he dropped the two boys off. "Just give me a call when you're ready to leave, Naruto."

The blond nodded at the driver as he pulled Sasuke's hand out of the car and into the sunlight. Sasuke and Naruto were dressed in board shorts and tank tops—completely and utterly beach ready. As they made their way to the warm sand, they paused at a metal railing that divided the beach from the street—the same rail that Naruto and his parents stood against before. The couple walked towards the railing and leaned against it as they looked at the sun which was floating above the cool blue waters, casting an orange tint on the waters closer to the horizon. Emotions ran through the blond as he looked at the sun and thought of his parents—and now Sasuke.

The dark eyed boy didn't yet understand the significance this beach had to the blond. However, looking at Naruto's eyes he could see a pained yet joyful expression as he look towards the horizon. The sun complemented Naruto's features in such a way that the blond's hair now looked like it was kindled from the sun itself, while the azure eyes now resembled the ocean waters which had been tinted by the sun's orange light. He released Naruto's hand and pulled him closer, resting his hand around the blue eyed boy's waist.

Resting his head on Sasuke's shoulder, Naruto said, "I wanted to take you here; this is my special place. As a child, this is where my parents took me on weekends after we had lunch. They always told me that the waters in the ocean were the currents of life, and how the sun was the reason for the ocean's vitality—it was the reason life was able to exist and perpetuate. Without it, my mother said life wouldn't be possible. She then told me my father and I were the sun to her current of life. I wanted to take you here because I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. Sasuke, you make me feel alive again and the warmth you give me reminds me of the sun."

Sasuke now understood why Naruto looked so pained earlier—he was making himself extremely vulnerable by sharing this with him. Sasuke moved to face Naruto who was looking at the ground. Bringing the golden face to his, Sasuke said, "You don't ever have to feel like I'm going to walk away from you, Naruto. You are the reason I've been so happy these past few weeks. Thank you, for sharing this with me." He brought Naruto closer to him and kissed him gently. This was one of those moments that everyone wished they could take a picture of. One of those slots in time that could only be internalized as a feeling and not by some photographer. Sasuke didn't think he would ever forget this moment—the moment when the boy he was falling for showed him complete trust.

Naruto smiled into the kiss before their lips parted. He couldn't believe he was feeling this again—the security, love, and acceptance. Marveling at the smiling boy in front of him, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's hand. "Let's go down there. I want to swim."

Sasuke laughed, "You always want to swim." He grinned as Naruto excitedly pulled him towards the sand and water.

Throughout the afternoon, Naruto kept trying to persuade Sasuke to go into the water with promises of being taught how to swim. After much physical exertion, Naruto finally got Sasuke into the water where they laughed and talked until the sun began to set, with an occasional romantic kiss and touch placed sporadically in between. Every moment they spent together only seemed to bring the two closer.

Once they got back out of the water, Naruto called the driver to pick them up. As they dried off, they waited while sitting on the rail they stood at earlier.

Naruto looked at Sasuke. "I hope you had fun today."

Sasuke replied with a smile, "Aside from being cold and smelling like salt, I had a lot of fun with you."

Both boys heard a car honking at them, and as they looked up they saw Naruto's car pull up. As they entered the car, the driver greeted them, "You guys looked like you had fun."

Naruto grinned, "We sure did!"

A few minutes after they had gotten into the car, Naruto's phone rang with a "Private caller" as the caller ID. The blond looked at his phone and groaned, "Who could this be?"

He answered, "Hello, who is this?" His eyes opened in shock as he heard the reply. "NEJI!?"

Sasuke felt his back stiffen and his fists clench. 'What the hell is that bastard doing calling MY boyfriend?!'


End file.
